Mr Lee Kuan Yew
First Prime Minister of Singapore

The Global Stage for Next-Gen Innovators

Inspired by one of the world’s most visionary leaders, the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC) is one of Asia's most globally representative and exciting deep-tech startup challenges. Every two years, our pitch competition lights up a global stage for next-gen founders to showcase their groundbreaking innovations and connect with the world, fueling their growth.

Powered by Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SMU IIE), we have fostered a global youth innovation village and launched countless successful ventures solving real-world challenges since 2002.

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Focus Areas

Carbon Tech

Solutions to capture, utilize, reduce, or store carbon dioxide, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and leverage data to optimize carbon management, ESG reporting and financing strategies.

Climate Tech

Climate tech utilises climate-resilient infrastructure to reduce emissions and support sustainable development.

Energy Transitions

Advancements in energy generation, storage, transmission, and distribution to facilitate the shift toward renewable sources to enhance grid resilience, optimize energy use, and ensure access to clean energy.

Food & Land Use

Innovative solutions promoting sustainable farming and alternative protein sources that enhance food security and minimise environmental impact.

Green Buildings & Constructions

Energy-efficient materials, smart technologies, and sustainable designs that reduce resource consumption and emissions.

Homeland Security

Advanced surveillance, AI, and cybersecurity solutions that strengthen national resilience and enhance rapid-response capabilities by safeguarding critical infrastructure and public spaces.

Public Health

Digital health, AI and other tech solutions that boost patient outcomes and enhance healthcare access, preventive care and overall community wellness.

Sustainable Materials & Circularity

Innovative materials and recycling technologies that promote renewable resources, extend product life cycles, and reduce waste, enabling closed-loop systems.

Transport & Logistics

Smarter transport networks based on EV infrastructure and mobility optimisation that optimise efficiency, reduce emissions and streamline logistics operations.

Urban Mobility Solutions

Urban mobility technologies such as autonomous vehicles and AI serve to optimise traffic, reduce congestion, and lower carbon emissions.

Water Solutions

Innovations in purification, harness real-time monitoring and AI-driven analytics to ensure access to clean water, optimise water usage, detect leaks, and minimise waste.

Emerging Tech

Advances in science and technologies addressing urban solutions and sustainability that ultimately have a positive impact on people, health, environment and the planet.

Competition Information

Prizes

Lee Kuan Yew Beta Prize
S$100,000 Cash Prize

Lee Kuan Yew Infinity Prize
S$100,000 Cash Prize

Future of Sustainable Materials Award
S$125,000 Cash Prize

NextGen Healthcare
Innovator Award
S$125,000 Cash Prize

Global AI Initiative Award
S$125,000 Cash Prize

Wavemaker Sustainability Investment Prize
Up to S$300,000
Investment Prize

Climate Innovation Investment Prize presented by TRIREC
Up to S$300,000
Investment Prize

APRW Public Relations
Resource Prize
S$100,000 Professional Service Prize 

Lee & Lee
Legal Resource Prize
S$76,500 Professional Service Prize

Best Professor-Student
Team Prize
S$20,000 Cash Prize

People's Choice Award
(Beta Category)
S$10,000 Cash Prize

People's Choice Award (Infinity Category)
S$10,000 Cash Prize

View More Prizes

12th LKYGBPC International Judging Panel

Prof. Shlomo Magdassi
Professor of Chemistry
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Prof. Paul Davidson
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, US

Genevieve Soh
Chief Product & Strategy Officer
Climate Impact X, Singapore

Mario Fernandez
Head of Catalyst
Breakthrough Energy, US

Frank Levinson
Co-Founder and General Partner
Convergent Ventures, US

Joyce Ng
General Partner
iGlobe Partners, Singapore

James Tang
Partner
KPCB, China

Daniel TAY
VP, Emerging Technologies
Temasek, Singapore

View All Judges

12th LKYGBPC Mentors

Sugandhi Matta
Chief Impact Officer
abc IMPACT

Jeremy Goon
Chief Sustainability Officer
Wilmar International

Gary Kunis
Former Chief Science Officer
CISCO Systems

Hugh Lim
Executive Director
Centre for Liveable Cities

Ivan Ng
Chief Technology Officer
City Developments Limited

Kheng Nam Lee
Deputy Chairman
Vertex Holdings

Pauline Tay
Director
National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC)

Liu Xiao Wei
Asia Director & Senior Advisor to Secretary General
World Energy Council

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12th LKYGBPC Faculty Communication Advisors

Mark Chong
Professor of Communication Management
SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business

Tracy Loh
Senior Lecturer of Communication Management
SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business

Stories

Rewind 18 Years: Competition Alumnus Leonard Lin Remembers Overnighters

Published on 18 February 2025

We track down a Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition alumnus from 2006. Games developer extraordinaire Leonard Lin reflects on how the competition has evolved.

On a sunset-chasing weekend mission, SMU intern Claire Soh witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets she has ever seen at the Øresund Bridge which links Sweden to Denmark.

Ripple Effect: How a Startup Competition Led to a Swedish Internship

Published on 5 February 2025

The very first intern under SMU’s Global Innovation Immersion programme to go to Sweden was SMU 3rd year Business Management student, Claire Soh – all thanks to the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition.

See More Stories