The 13th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC), organised by SMU’s Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SMU IIE), opened its applications on 28 October 2026 for university founders and recent graduates seeking to turn frontier ideas into real-world impact. Selected finalists can join SMU's Urban SustaInnovator (USI) accelerator, which supports start-ups through market access, pilot projects and strategic introductions across Asia. Rony Palathinkal, Head of LKYGBPC and USI at SMU IIE, said that SMU created LKYGBPC as a platform to help founders bring their innovative ideas to life by connecting them with the partners, markets and opportunities needed to turn innovation into real-world impact. Now, through the USI programme and USI Fund, they offer a post-competition pathway to pilot, scale and raise capital throughout Asia.
SMU Vice President (Partnerships and Engagement) and Lee Kong Chian Professor of Communication & Technology Lim Sun Sun said that SMU's expansive network of partners from industry, government and community across Asia enables us to forge connections that enable startups to cross borders and scale their innovative solutions. Shirley Wong, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at SMU IIE and Chairperson of the 13th LKYGBPC Advisory Committee, said that as Asia continues to urbanise, the region presents both complex challenges and significant opportunities for innovation, and that LKYGBPC connects founders worldwide with Singapore's ecosystem of industry, investors and institutions.