Countries Already Adapting Singapore's Lessons

Introduction

Singapore’s rise is no longer a lone case study. Around the world, other nations have started to lift core ideas, like clean rules, quick experimentation, and social unity, and bend them to fit their local realities. The stories below show how three very different places borrowed a principle, shaped it to their own culture, and made it work.

Mauritius – Turning an Island into a Business Magnet

In the 1980s Mauritius relied on sugar and tourism. Growth felt capped. Taking a page from Singapore’s pro‑business playbook, the government set up an Economic Development Board to act as a single, fast‑moving shop for investors. It trimmed paperwork, shifted many permits online, and kept corporate taxes low. By 2019 the World Bank ranked Mauritius 13th worldwide, and first in Africa, for ease of doing business, noting that more than sixty thousand applications had already flowed through the new digital portal.

The lesson is that clear rules plus one front‑door agency can unlock private investment even on a small, resource‑light island.

Dubai, UAE – A “Smart City” Built on Pragmatism

Dubai’s leaders wanted a digital government that works at street level. They studied Singapore’s Smart Nation drive, then launched their own Smart Dubai programme in 2014. The city rolled out paper‑free licensing, open data dashboards, and a blockchain land registry, often piloting each service in one district before scaling it up, exactly the pragmatic test‑and‑expand rhythm Singapore used. By 2020 the initiative had matured into Digital Dubai, covering mobility, environment, and living standards across the emirate.

Digital tools look different in a desert metropolis than on a tropical island, yet the underlying habits—pilot quickly, measure, and refine—are the same.

Vietnam – Industrial Parks with Singapore’s DNA

Back in the mid‑1990s Vietnam needed foreign factories but lacked modern zones to host them. Hanoi partnered with a Singapore consortium led by Sembcorp to build the first Vietnam‑Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) near Ho Chi Minh City in 1996. The deal blended Singapore’s “plug‑and‑play” infrastructure model with Vietnamese labour and land. Nearly three decades later, VSIP sites dot the country, housing more than 800 investors and helping Vietnam climb the manufacturing ladder.

The project shows how a joint venture can transplant Singapore’s efficient‑park concept while leaving ownership and day‑to‑day culture in local hands.

The Take‑Away

None of these places copied Singapore brick for brick. Mauritius kept its Creole culture, Dubai built for a desert climate, and Vietnam combined foreign design with local management. What travelled were the principles: make business entry simple, test digital services in small bites, and create trustworthy spaces for investors and workers. Those principles proved flexible enough to thrive in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Gulf, and the Mekong Delta.

If three such different settings can adapt The Singapore Way, chances are high that your country can too. Identify a pressing issue, borrow the principle that fits, run a small pilot, and shape it until it feels like home. The bridge is open.