[Singapore, 23 August 2013 (Friday)] – The 7th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition, organised by Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE), drew to a close today with an Awards Presentation Ceremony held at the St. Regis Hotel and graced by Guest-of-Honour Mr Ron Sim, Founder, Chairman and CEO of OSIM International Ltd. SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer, faculty, staff and partners were also present at the event.

Named after Singapore’s first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who is widely recognised as a strategic thinker and a global visionary, this biennial marquee competition is aimed at encouraging youth excellence in enterprise and is open to all undergraduates, college and polytechnic students around the world. This year’s competition is specially dedicated to honour Mr Lee on his 90th birthday.

The competition attracted more than 336 tertiary students from 28 countries and regions who submitted 121 business plans. 

After months of intense competition, six university teams from Bangladesh, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Indonesia and Singapore (represented by SMU) entered the grand finals held earlier today.

Team HealthyCaps from Bangladesh’s University of Dhaka emerged as winners and took home US$36,000 after beating five other finalists to the top prize. The team had impressed the judges with their business idea of extracting gelatin from fish fins and scales to produce capsule shells of superior bloom strength and oxygen permeability, compared to those made from gelatin extracted from traditional raw materials of pig skin and bovine hides. Additionally, the product will also not conflict with any religious belief, and can be accepted by a larger pool of consumers.

Said Professor Arnoud De Meyer, “Innovation and Entrepreneurship is an area of focus for the Singapore Management University. At SMU, we offer our undergraduate students entrepreneurship concentrations and Technopreneurship track as second majors.

“Since the inaugural edition of the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition in 2001, we have continuously enhanced its format to make it more attractive to participating teams from overseas as well as from Singapore. These teams possess genuine intentions of establishing new companies using the business plans presented at this competition. We are very pleased to share that the winners of the fifth and sixth editions of this competition have indeed gone on to create companies.”

Team Planboard from Canada’s University of Waterloo was the first runner-up (cash prize of US$12,000) with their idea to harness the power of technology to help teachers streamline their lesson plans, find resources, and collaborate with others. Team Elephant Casava from Indonesia’s Gadjah Mada University claimed the second runner-up position (cash prize of US$3,000) with their business idea of growing and refining cassava into, but not limited to, four more products without leaving any waste. These products include modified cassava flour, biobriquet made from residual solid waste, bag logs made from residual solid and water of the production process, and flavonoid extract from cassava leaves.

The other finalists – Team Gazaab Social Ventures from SMU, Team Greenlock from the University of Dhaka of Bangladesh, and Team Inno-Chemos from City University of Hong Kong, China, were awarded consolation prizes of US$500 each.

Professor of Information Systems (Practice) and Director of IIE at SMU Desai Arcot Narasimhalu added, “The quality of the submissions received from tertiary institutions worldwide for this competition has been improving over the years. Not only do the plans make good business sense, they also have the additional dimensions of being socially responsible and environmentally-friendly.

“This year, we are delighted that five teams representing four Asian countries have made it to the final. This could be a reflection of the rising importance of Asia as an engine for growth in the world economy, and the boundless business opportunities available. We look forward to receiving more innovative and high quality business plans at the next Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition.”

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.

A highlight of the competition is the four-day Entrepreneurship Study Mission which allowed the finalists to gain a better understanding of the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, as well as initiatives in Singapore. They visited incubators and networked with early-stage venture capital firms and Technology Incubation Managers.

Another highlight of the competition was the presentation of the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur Award which recognises outstanding entrepreneurial potential among the six finalists. Mr Jamon Mok Zixuan, a member of Team Gazaab Social Ventures and a fourth-year student from SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business, won the Award and a cash prize of S$5,000. 

As the best placed local team, SMU’s Team Gazaab Social Ventures also won a funding of S$100,000 from HSBC which they could draw on to execute their business plan. This funding is part of HSBC's support of the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition to nurture and develop young talent and harness their abilities for the benefit of the community.

In addition, the top three winners of the inaugural Youth Innovation Challenge, namely the Anglo-Chinese Junior College, Nanyang Junior College and Millenia Institute, were recognised at the Awards Presentation Ceremony. The Youth Innovation Challenge is designed and organised by IIE to encourage an innovative mindset among students from the secondary schools and junior colleges.

The Ceremony also saw the launch of i-Club, or Innovation Club, by SMU to deepen its education, outreach and research leadership in the area of Innovation. The Club consists of companies which demonstrate a deep interest in the study and practice of innovation for organisational growth and market leadership. i-Club members will meet every quarter to share experiences with one another and to learn about emerging innovation practices and theories from thought leaders, resident faculty as well as from doctoral students. The i-Club is one of SMU’s initiatives under its Innovation Area of Excellence. Eleven companies who have joined as i-Club members include Dupont, Mastercard, Nestle, Starhub, Abbott Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson.

Annex A: Speech by Professor Arnoud De Meyer, President, SMU