• The Grand winners are Iterative Scopes and Relectrify
• This year’s edition saw over 850 entries from 650 universities across 60 countries
• The launch of the inaugural VC Office Hours, a marquee industry event with participation from more than 30 senior partners at leading venture capital firms
• Inaugural SMU Chancellor Cup to recognise the most promising Singapore team representing a local university

SINGAPORE, 19 March 2021 – The 10th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC), organised by Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE), concluded today with a virtual Awards Presentation Ceremony. The Grand Finals, titled as BLAZE, was opened by Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies and Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat, and Professor Lily Kong, President, SMU.

The Grand Winners for the 10th LKYGBPC are:

• Iterative Scopes from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for The Lee Kuan Yew BETA Prize (0 to 1 Category)
• Relectrify from University of Melbourne, Australia for The Lee Kuan Yew INFINITY Prize (1 to Infinity Category)

The theme for the 10th edition was “Reimagine Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities”.  Over 850 entries were received from 650 universities across 60 countries. This is an increase from 550 entries from 300 universities across 68 countries for the 9th edition of the competition in 2017. Due to the ongoing pandemic and international travel restrictions, the Grand Finals were held virtually this year.

This edition’s finalists included teams from various leading universities in Asia, Europe and the United States of America. A highlight of this edition’s competition was the launch of the VC Office Hours, a marquee industry event with participation from more than 30 senior partners at leading venture capital firms who manage assets totalling US$16 billion collectively, providing one-to-one consultations with start-ups.

The “Top 8” finalist teams presented their business plans “live” in the virtual Grand Finals earlier this afternoon. Both Grand Winners, Iterative Scopes (0 to 1 Category) and Relectrify (1 to Infinity) walked home with a total prize valued at S$250,000 each (cash and other prizes). Please refer to Annex B for more details on the “Top 8 Grand Finalists” for the LKYGBPC.

Teams in the 0 to 1 category are start-ups that are at a pre-revenue stage with disruptive technology or business model innovations, whereas those in the 1 to infinity category are early-stage start-ups, up to Series A stage, who have started generating revenue.

The other accolades that were conferred to the grand finalists include prizes such as the inaugural SMU Chancellor Cup that awards the most promising team representing a Singapore university, Sino-Singapore Nanjing Eco Hi-tech Island Investment Prize, Kajima Smart Construction Deployment Prize and People’s Choice Award. Winners of the other prizes can be found in Annex C.

The finalists were evaluated on: Innovativeness, Commercial Feasibility, Impact of Idea, and Capability to Execute.

The panel of judges for the Grand Finals were:

• Shirley Wong, Chairperson, LKYGPC Steering Committee, SMU IIE
• Harvey Toor, Chief Investment Officer, Singapore Management University
• Yulanda Chung, Head of Sustainability, DBS
• Howie Lau, Assistant Chief Executive, Media & Innovation, Infocomm Media Development Authority
• Beh Kian Teik, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, National Research Foundation
• Paul Santos, Managing Partner, Wavemaker Partners
• Robert Chew, Managing Partner, iGlobe Partners
• Liu Gen Ping, Partner, Vertex Holdings

The two-day event also played host to Changemakers Conversations, which saw like-minded entrepreneurs, advocates and disruptors come together to discuss ‘Growth in Asia’. The platform aims to enable them to share their thoughts and ideas, build deeper connections and spark collaborations.

For more information about the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition, please visit http://smu.edu.sg/lky.