Can you imagine wanting a good salad so badly that you launch a multimillion‑dollar urban farming company and develop groundbreaking technology that not only yields quality produce but completely disrupts the farming industry?
Benjamin Swan did exactly that. What started as a mission to grow some delicious leafy greens became a rude awakening about the global food crisis, ultimately leading Swan to work “like a mad scientist” to develop high‑tech systems to replicate—and, eventually, even improve—nature’s growing processes.
It certainly helped that he is a trained engineer. Swan first moved to Singapore from Australia to lead the construction of the SkyPark at Marina Bay Sands (MBS). “Today, whenever we drive past MBS, my son calls it ‘Daddy’s boat’,” Swan says with a smile. He then joined Citibank, where he oversaw the construction of its regional offices to meet sustainability standards. He also designed its smart banking platform—it was his first foray into digitalisation, taking a process from analogue to digital, another skill that would later help him integrate the power of technology into the world of agriculture.
Accustomed to a wide range of local produce in his home country, Swan was frustrated with the quality of fruits and vegetables he found in local supermarkets in Singapore, which imports 90 per cent
