[Singapore, 22 May 2013 (Wednesday)] - The Singapore Management University (SMU) today announced the six (6) finalists for the 7^th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan (LKYGBP) Competition. The finalists were shortlisted from an initial field of 121 entries from across the world, which were further reduced to a list of 15 for the semi-final. This year’s participation included submissions from tertiary institutions spanning six continents - Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America, which gave a truly global representation and a cosmopolitan flavour to the competition.

The six teams which have qualified for the Grand Final of the prestigious 7^th LKYGBP Competition are as follows (in alphabetical order of the country represented):

“We are greatly encouraged by the enthusiastic participation of more than 120 tertiary institutions worldwide in the biennial Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition. The quality of the business plans proposed by these participants has improved significantly since the Competition was inaugurated in 2001 and the intensity of the competition has necessitated an even more stringent and rigorous judging process for this year’s semi-final and grand final ,” said Professor of Information Systems (Practice) Desai Arcot Narasimhalu, Director of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) at SMU.

Professor Desai added, “We are particularly delighted that five teams representing four Asian countries have made it to this year’s final.  This could be a reflection of the rising importance of Asia as an engine for growth in the world economy. It could also be an indication of the plethora of business opportunities available at the Bottom of the Pyramid or the emerging markets.  We wish every finalist the best of luck and hope that the Entrepreneurship Study Mission being organised for the six finalists will help broaden the perspectives of the team members in their entrepreneurial quests and journey.”

Named after Singapore’s first Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who is widely recognised as a strategic thinker and a global visionary, the LKYGBP Competition is open to all undergraduates, college and polytechnic students from around the world.  It provides an excellent platform for tertiary students globally to develop their entrepreneurial inclinations by sharing their business ideas and pitting their wits against their peers at an international level.

Organised by IIE, this biennial marquee event aimed at encouraging youth excellence in enterprise is now into its 7^th edition.  Participants are required to submit a business plan for a start-up or early-stage venture and compete for US$60,000 worth of cash prizes in total.  The winning team will walk away with US$36,000; the first runner-up will take home US$12,000 and the second runner-up, US$3,000.  The other three finalists will get US$500 per team and two core team members of the finalists from overseas will each receive a complimentary round trip air ticket and a five-night hotel stay in Singapore. 

In addition, an individual Most Promising Young Entrepreneur Award with a cash prize of S$5,000 will be presented to the best-performing student representative.  This inaugural award recognises outstanding entrepreneurial potential among the six finalists (applicable to core members only).  The winner must demonstrate a passion for entrepreneurship that extends beyond the purposes of the competition, which include but are not limited to entrepreneurship education, relevant community or professional associations, involvement with entrepreneurship-related programmes, and track record of entrepreneurial pursuits.  

Another highlight of this year’s competition is a four-day Entrepreneurship Study Mission for the finalists to gain a better understanding of the innovation and entrepreneurship eco-system as well as initiatives in Singapore.  They will visit incubators and network with early-stage VCs and Technology Incubation Managers.   

The five international finalists from Bangladesh, Canada, China and Indonesia will travel to Singapore in August 2013 to join the SMU team and all six teams will receive mentoring by a select panel of senior business leaders recommended by IIE. The finalists will also be invited to a private networking event with angel investors and venture capitalists.

The final-round presentations by the finalists and the 7^th LKYGBP Awards Presentation Dinner will be held on 23 August 2013 (Friday) at the St. Regis Singapore (29 Tanglin Road).  The six teams will be judged on the four following criteria during a 25-minute presentation (including Q&A) for each finalist:

Innovation - Novelty and Intellectual Property (25%)

Scalability - Market Size and Sustainability (25%)

Competitive Positioning - Team and Advisors (25%)

Financials - Diagrams, graphs and financial charts (25%)

The five-member Judging Panel comprises Dr Ting Choon Meng, Executive Chairman and CEO, HealthSTATS International Pte Ltd; Mr Chua Joo Hock, Group President and CEO, Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd and Vertex Venture Management Pte Ltd;,; Mr Yishai Klein, Regional Director, Gitza Asia and Managing Partner of Giza Tamarix Ventures (Tamarix); Mr Deepak Natarajan, Director, Intel Capital Southeast Asia; and Mr Pratik Bose, Chief Investment Officer, CISCO.

The results of the Grand Final will be announced at the above Awards Dinner.

About the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at SMU

The Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) at SMU has been set up to nurture and promote the innovative spirit and entrepreneurial culture among the students, staff and faculty of SMU through collaboration with the community.  IIE is committed to helping innovators commercialise their ideas and it aspires to build high quality and robust start-ups within SMU and the larger community through research, strategy, training, R&D, business mentoring and incubation, as well as knowledge-sharing. IIE will play the role of a strategic innovation partner in working closely with SMEs, large corporations, early-stage venture capitalists, academic institutions and individual researchers.