After months of intense competition, Team BLITAB from Austria’s University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien emerged as winners and took home US$36,000 after beating five other finalists to the top prize at the grand finals of the 8^th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition held in SMU on 20 August 2015.

The team had impressed the judges with their development of the world’s first tactile tablet for the blind and the visually impaired. BLITAB is a next generation, affordable and multi-functional device for braille reading and writing that displays an entire page of braille text without any mechanical elements. Pictures and graphics like maps and building plans can be presented on the device with tactile relief, opening a completely new world of content to the visually challenged.

Kristina Tsvetanova, leader of Team BLITAB said, “The Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition is much more than a typical student competition. Although we only had a few hours to sleep each day, the mentoring, networking sessions and site visits more than made up for it. The knowledge and insights that we gained from established innovators and fellow finalist teams are extremely useful. The exposure to top notch venture capitalists was exhilarating. Overall, the experience had been amazing and refreshing!"

[Caption: Mr Teo Kim Yong, Chief Operating Officer of Wilmar International Limited, presented Mr Chirrag Kapil of Team LEAF with the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur Award.]

Mr Chirrag Kapil, a member of Team LEAF, won the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur Award and a cash prize of S$5,000. The award recognises outstanding entrepreneurial potential among the six finalists.

Organised by the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE), the competition is 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.

Incepted in 2001, this year’s competition received 185 submissions from 445 students studying in 140 universities across 44 countries.

In his Welcome Address at the Awards Presentation Ceremony held at the Shangri-La Hotel, SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer said, “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.

“Compared to the previous edition in 2013, this year saw a 50% increase in the number of submissions and more than 50% increase in the number of countries from which we received submissions. There were also 30% more students participating in the competition.

“We are very happy to note that a number of submissions focused on innovations that address sustainability. We notice there has been an increase in participation from emerging economies in Asia. Five of the six finalists for this edition are from Asia. We are truly encouraged by the fact the submissions from Asia are among the top submissions for the competition.”

Guest-of-Honour Mr Lim Ho Kee, Chairman of Singapore Post and Managing Partner of Majuven Pte Ltd emphasized in his Keynote Address the importance of Character, Competence and Commitment. Mr Ho, who has invested in 150 start-ups, also identified four types of risks which start-ups need to be aware of: Market, Technology, Financial, and People. He added that team work, culture and values are important to the long term success of a company.

Team LEAF from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi was the first runner-up (cash prize of US$12,000) with their revolutionary smart pendant called SAFER which, together with an app, serve to enhance the safety of women. When a woman feels threatened, she just needs to press SAFER twice. An alert and her location will be sent to the people she had pre-designated as Guardians, as well as nearby SAFER users who will be able to track her location real-time by navigating on maps.

Team Life Collar from the Institute of Business Administration at Bangladesh’s University of Dhaka claimed the second runner-up position (cash prize of US$3,000) with their cervical collar for accident and work-related injury victims. Using bamboo as the main structural base, along with cane and wicker strips, the collar is less costly than neck braces which are not easily available in Bangladesh.

The other finalists – Team caneTin from Bangladesh’s University of Dhaka, Team Hajj Guider from Pakistan’s Comsats Institute of Information Technology, and Team NutriMilk from Bangladesh’s University of Dhaka, were awarded consolation prizes of US$500 each.

Team caneTin utilizes sugarcane bagasse, an agricultural by-product, to create an environmentally friendly, affordable and sustainable solution to tackle the housing problem in Bangladesh.

Team Hajj Guider developed a wearable band which makes the Hajj and Umrah safer and simpler for pilgrims. It allows pilgrims to communicate via two way audio, track each other and provide navigation and guidance services.

Team NutriMilk developed a product to tackle the malnutrition problem in Bangladesh. It is prepared from soybean using an innovative patented technology, and is cheaper than existing cow-milk and other kinds other milk.

The five-member Judging Panel comprises Mr Chua Joo Hock, Group President and CEO, Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd and Vertex Venture Management Pte Ltd; Mr Deepak Natarajan, Director of Intel Capital Southeast Asia; Mr Ong Peng Tsin, Partner of Monk's Hill Ventures; Mr Eddie Chau, Co-Founder & Chairman of V-Key Inc and Co-founding Partner of TNF Ventures; and Ms Rosemary Tan, CEO of Veredus Laboratories Pte Ltd.

The finalists were evaluated on Innovativeness of Business Idea, Commercial Feasibility, Potential Market Opportunity, Capability to Execute, Competitive Positioning of Team, and IP Strategy.

[Caption: The six teams received face-to-face coaching from business mentors and serial entrepreneurs before the grand finals.]

A highlight of the competition was the three-day Entrepreneurship Study Mission from 17-19 August which allowed the finalists to gain an insight into Singapore’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. They visited local start-up companies, networked with angel investors, and had face-to-face coaching from an array of business mentors and serial entrepreneurs.

[Caption: The finalist teams visited LiveLabs, Living Analytics Research Centre and Business Innovations Generator at SMU, as well as Build Amazing Startups Here (BASH) - Singapore's biggest all-in-one startup facility (top), and Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (bottom).]  

[Featured photo: Guest-of-Honour Mr Lim Ho Kee, Chairman of Singapore Post and Managing Partner of Majuven Pte Ltd, presented Team BLITAB from Austria’s University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien with the top prize for this year's Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition.]