SINGAPORE — Being savvy and responding to consumer demands through innovation and technology has propelled some Singapore businesses to the top, according to a list of the fastest growing companies here released on Tuesday (January 18).

The ranking, which was compiled by The Straits Times and global research firm Statista, showed the top 10 companies came from a variety of sectors, including support services, precious metals recycling and retail.

Many companies have leveraged innovative technologies and solutions to meet the ever-changing needs of their consumers, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Firms were ranked by their compound annual growth rate. They had to meet certain criteria for potential inclusion on the list, such as having generated revenue of at least $150,000 in 2017 and at least $1.5 million in 2020.

The study conducted last year (2021) – the fourth since the first iteration of the list in 2018 – compiled a league table of 75 local businesses that achieved strong revenue growth between 2017 and 2020.

HR platform provider Workmate topped the charts this year, with a compound annual growth rate of 346%.

The company, which was founded in 2016, provides an end-to-end platform that integrates automation tools, real-time performance data and a network of pre-screened candidates so that companies can hire and optimize their blue collar workforce.

It now has 90 employees in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

Online shopping solution provider SCI Ecommerce came second, followed by Haulio, Southeast Asia’s largest container shipping platform.

Thomas Clark, Senior Associate Partner at Statista, based in Germany, who is responsible for business development and international affairs, said: “Technical and support services will always be at the forefront of the list of champions of the growth in modern and innovative economies like Singapore.”

Statista senior analyst Michael Bausch added, “E-commerce is certainly the most important sector that has directly benefited from the pandemic.”

Aurobindo Ghosh, assistant professor of finance at the Singapore Management University, observed that globally, technology companies have reached a rapid pace of growth in recent years, such as the famous FAANG – Facebook, Apple , Amazon, Netflix and Google.

Lawrence Loh, professor of business at the National University of Singapore, said: “Going forward, the fastest growing sectors will be those resilient to the pandemic. These may include information technology , logistics, health and green sectors.”