Venture Exchange Program Singapore Immersion Week

Ming Zhu, Senior Investments & Partnerships Manager, Nourish Ventures

Ming Zhu is based in Singapore and leads APAC investments and partnerships for Nourish Ventures, the Corporate Venture Capital fund of Griffith Foods. He was previously a senior strategy consultant at Innosight, advising Fortune 500 companies on growth and innovation.

Before that, Ming held leadership roles at vertical farming firm Crop One in San Francisco and Dubai, where he led its Emirates JV and expansion efforts across MENA and APAC. Ming also spent time as an investor with agri-food VC firm Anterra Capital.

Siddharth Satpute, Senior Vice President – Nupo Ventures

Siddharth Satpute leads the central incubation team at Nupo Ventures, which serves as the venture building arm of the Olam Group, a leading global food and agri business. Over the past 5 years, he has been involved in ideating, validating, and supporting early-stage incubation of corporate ventures at the intersection of digital and sustainability. In addition, Siddharth also heads the Industry Solutions Group at Mindsprint, the digital technology services arm of the Olam group.

Siddharth’s journey with Olam commenced in 2013 as the finance head for India. He went on to become the finance head for APAC region before taking on his current roles in venture incubation and digital transformation Prior to Olam, Siddharth spent more than 16 years with Royal Philips Electronics where he held various country, regional and global functional and business roles.

Angela Tay, Investor, AgFunder

Angela is a seasoned investment professional at AgFunder, where she has been a key member of the Singapore-based team for over five years. As one of the pioneers in establishing the firm’s regional office, she plays a critical role across the full venture capital investment spectrum—from deal sourcing and due diligence to term negotiation and portfolio management. She also serves on the boards of multiple portfolio companies, providing strategic guidance and governance.

Beyond investments, Angela contributes to firm-wide fundraising efforts and investor relations, engaging with both existing and prospective LPs. A recognized voice in agritech, food tech, and climate tech, she has been invited to speak at international conferences in Japan, Spain, and Vietnam and has served as a judge for startup competitions.

Sharon Tay, Director, Food Manufacturing & Agritech, Enterprise Singapore

Sharon is the Director of Food Manufacturing and Agritech at Enterprise Singapore. She is passionate about putting local players on the map and leverages her experience to help companies to build strategic capabilities and networks, expand through mergers and acquisitions and work around regulatory hurdles.

Sharon graduated from Monash University in Australia with a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) and a Bachelor of Law. Before joining the public sector, she lived and worked in Australia, London, Bangladesh, Russia, Indonesia and Singapore with a career that spanned Legal Aid, Foreign Trade, as well as Finance.

Professor William Cheng, Director NTU Food Science & Technology Programme, SAIL and FRESH

William Chen is the Michael Fam Endowed Professor and Director of NTU’s Food Science & Technology Programme. He is concurrently Director of Singapore Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH), and Singapore Agri-food Innovation Lab (SAIL). Professor Chen has been successful in securing large competitive research grants and industry investment.

His food technology innovations have been extensively attracting global attention. His views on food tech innovations, food safety and food security have been regularly covered by major local and international media outlets. He is also advisor/consultant to overseas universities, Singapore government agencies, food industry, and international organizations (ADB, FAO, WHO among others).

Chris Coburn, General Manager, v2food international

Chris leads the v2food international business on their mission to make meat - meat made from plants - delicious, nutritious and sustainable for generations to come. Based in Singapore, Chris has lived and worked across Asia for over 10 years.

Holding an MBA from Melbourne Business School (including an exchange to the Chinese University of Hong Kong) and also a qualified Chartered Accountant (Fellow), Chris has previously worked at Treasury Wine Estates, Deloitte and EY and has significant expertise in international business, brand development and strategy.

v2food is Australia’s #1 plant based meat, and Chris is working with the team and our partners globally to bring v2food to more dishes and plates around the world.

Mei Mei Chan, Founder, CMM Food Consultancy

Chan Mei Mei, the founder of CMM Food Consultancy Pte Ltd has over 20 years of expertise in food safety and quality. Her career includes key roles in Quality Control, Quality Assurance and R&D where she successfully led the setup of microbiological testing laboratory, drove R&D initiatives, and oversaw the attainment and maintenance of ISO 22000, HACCP, and Halal certifications.

As a Food Science Lecturer, she pioneered the Food Science diploma program, developing the curriculum and establishing advanced lab infrastructure for hands-on learning. Mei Mei has also worked with the national food regulatory agency, AVA and SFA, gaining invaluable regulatory insights and building strong industry relationships.

Now, through her consultancy, Mei Mei is committed to advancing food safety and supporting businesses in delivering safe, high-quality products.

Carolyn Stephen, Lead Nutritionist, Singapore Polytechnic

Carolyn has over two decades of work experience with a diverse range of expertise encompassing nutrition education, sports nutrition, curriculum development and new product creation.

Her current area of work at the Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC) comprises of conceptualisation and development of health and wellness-oriented food products as well as nutrition outreach for the food industry. As a major part of her portfolio, she provides essential food product labelling consultancy to ensure labels meet regulatory requirements for local and overseas markets.

Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Otago, New Zealand and is a member of the Singapore Nutrition & Dietetics Association (SNDA).

This is an opportunity to connect with your Venture Exchange Program (VEP) peers, Program Facilitators, Experts-in-Residence and VEP delivery team to foster a rich exchange of knowledge and experiences. It is also an opportunity for one-to-one meetings with prospective customers, suppliers, distributors, and to conduct potential site and facility visits.

Ming Zhu, Senior Investments & Partnerships Manager, Nourish Ventures

Ming Zhu is based in Singapore and leads APAC investments and partnerships for Nourish Ventures, the Corporate Venture Capital fund of Griffith Foods. He was previously a senior strategy consultant at Innosight, advising Fortune 500 companies on growth and innovation.

Before that, Ming held leadership roles at vertical farming firm Crop One in San Francisco and Dubai, where he led its Emirates JV and expansion efforts across MENA and APAC. Ming also spent time as an investor with agri-food VC firm Anterra Capital.

Siddharth Satpute, Senior Vice President – Nupo Ventures

Siddharth Satpute leads the central incubation team at Nupo Ventures, which serves as the venture building arm of the Olam Group, a leading global food and agri business. Over the past 5 years, he has been involved in ideating, validating, and supporting early-stage incubation of corporate ventures at the intersection of digital and sustainability. In addition, Siddharth also heads the Industry Solutions Group at Mindsprint, the digital technology services arm of the Olam group.

Siddharth’s journey with Olam commenced in 2013 as the finance head for India. He went on to become the finance head for APAC region before taking on his current roles in venture incubation and digital transformation Prior to Olam, Siddharth spent more than 16 years with Royal Philips Electronics where he held various country, regional and global functional and business roles.

Angela Tay, Investor, AgFunder

Angela is a seasoned investment professional at AgFunder, where she has been a key member of the Singapore-based team for over five years. As one of the pioneers in establishing the firm’s regional office, she plays a critical role across the full venture capital investment spectrum—from deal sourcing and due diligence to term negotiation and portfolio management. She also serves on the boards of multiple portfolio companies, providing strategic guidance and governance.

Beyond investments, Angela contributes to firm-wide fundraising efforts and investor relations, engaging with both existing and prospective LPs. A recognized voice in agritech, food tech, and climate tech, she has been invited to speak at international conferences in Japan, Spain, and Vietnam and has served as a judge for startup competitions.

Sharon Tay, Director, Food Manufacturing & Agritech, Enterprise Singapore

Sharon is the Director of Food Manufacturing and Agritech at Enterprise Singapore. She is passionate about putting local players on the map and leverages her experience to help companies to build strategic capabilities and networks, expand through mergers and acquisitions and work around regulatory hurdles.

Sharon graduated from Monash University in Australia with a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) and a Bachelor of Law. Before joining the public sector, she lived and worked in Australia, London, Bangladesh, Russia, Indonesia and Singapore with a career that spanned Legal Aid, Foreign Trade, as well as Finance.

Professor William Cheng, Director NTU Food Science & Technology Programme, SAIL and FRESH

William Chen is the Michael Fam Endowed Professor and Director of NTU’s Food Science & Technology Programme. He is concurrently Director of Singapore Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH), and Singapore Agri-food Innovation Lab (SAIL). Professor Chen has been successful in securing large competitive research grants and industry investment.

His food technology innovations have been extensively attracting global attention. His views on food tech innovations, food safety and food security have been regularly covered by major local and international media outlets. He is also advisor/consultant to overseas universities, Singapore government agencies, food industry, and international organizations (ADB, FAO, WHO among others).

Chris Coburn, General Manager, v2food international

Chris leads the v2food international business on their mission to make meat - meat made from plants - delicious, nutritious and sustainable for generations to come. Based in Singapore, Chris has lived and worked across Asia for over 10 years.

Holding an MBA from Melbourne Business School (including an exchange to the Chinese University of Hong Kong) and also a qualified Chartered Accountant (Fellow), Chris has previously worked at Treasury Wine Estates, Deloitte and EY and has significant expertise in international business, brand development and strategy.

v2food is Australia’s #1 plant based meat, and Chris is working with the team and our partners globally to bring v2food to more dishes and plates around the world.

Mei Mei Chan, Founder, CMM Food Consultancy

Chan Mei Mei, the founder of CMM Food Consultancy Pte Ltd has over 20 years of expertise in food safety and quality. Her career includes key roles in Quality Control, Quality Assurance and R&D where she successfully led the setup of microbiological testing laboratory, drove R&D initiatives, and oversaw the attainment and maintenance of ISO 22000, HACCP, and Halal certifications.

As a Food Science Lecturer, she pioneered the Food Science diploma program, developing the curriculum and establishing advanced lab infrastructure for hands-on learning. Mei Mei has also worked with the national food regulatory agency, AVA and SFA, gaining invaluable regulatory insights and building strong industry relationships.

Now, through her consultancy, Mei Mei is committed to advancing food safety and supporting businesses in delivering safe, high-quality products.

Carolyn Stephen, Lead Nutritionist, Singapore Polytechnic

Carolyn has over two decades of work experience with a diverse range of expertise encompassing nutrition education, sports nutrition, curriculum development and new product creation.

Her current area of work at the Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC) comprises of conceptualisation and development of health and wellness-oriented food products as well as nutrition outreach for the food industry. As a major part of her portfolio, she provides essential food product labelling consultancy to ensure labels meet regulatory requirements for local and overseas markets.

Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Otago, New Zealand and is a member of the Singapore Nutrition & Dietetics Association (SNDA).

This is an opportunity to connect with your Venture Exchange Program (VEP) peers, Program Facilitators, Experts-in-Residence and VEP delivery team to foster a rich exchange of knowledge and experiences. It is also an opportunity for one-to-one meetings with prospective customers, suppliers, distributors, and to conduct potential site and facility visits.