The 12th LKYGBPC has officially closed. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey!
A record 1,500+ applications from 91 countries — our biggest year yet.
The 12th LKYGBPC has officially closed. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey!
Discover Urban SustaInnovator, our new accelerator.

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.

The 12th LKYGBPC is bringing together next-gen innovators addressing the most pressing global challenges in Urban Solutions & Sustainability.

 

Why Founders Join LKYGBPC

  • Leverage Singapore’s edge in innovation, startup-friendly policies and top talent
  • Connect with leaders shaping Southeast Asia’s market of 700M consumers
  • Pitch to investors in Singapore’s thriving hub of 200+ VC funds and family offices
  • Join a deeptech peer learning network of founders from world's top 100 universities
  • Receive 1:1 mentorship from C-suite executives
  • S$2.5M+ in prizes and counting
  • Exclusive opportunity to join the Urban Sustainnovator accelerator programme

Guests-of-Honour

 

Opening Ceremony

Minister Chee Hong Tat

Mr Chee Hong Tat is currently the Minister for National Development. He also serves as Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Board of Directors, Chairman of the Chinese Community Liaison Group and an Adviser to the Board of Directors of Business China. Before joining politics, he spent 17 years in the Public Service, and had served as the Principal Private Secretary to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Chief Executive of the Energy Market Authority and Second Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.


Closing Ceremony

Heng Swee Keat

Mr. Heng plays a key role in steering Singapore’s research, innovation, and enterprise strategies, overseeing the closer integration of our RIE and industry transformation efforts. As former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, he shaped future-focused policies that continue to drive the nation’s innovation and talent landscape.

Event Programmes






Prizes

GRAND PRIZES

 

 

CASH PRIZES

 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PRIZE

 

INVESTMENT PRIZES

 

GRANT PRIZES

12th LKYGBPC Advisory Committee

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Shirley Wong
Chief Judge & Chair, 12th LKYGBPC, Advisory Committee; Entrepreneur-in-Residence, SMUIIE; Managing Partner, TNF Ventures Pte Ltd

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Jixun Foo
Senior Managing Partner
Granite Asia

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David Golding
Head of Global Innovation Partnerships
Innovate UK

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Lim Eng Hwee
Chief Executive Officer
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)

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Lim Teck Kiat
Deputy Secretary (Resilience)
Ministry for Sustainability ​and the Environment​

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Prof Shlomo Magdassi
Professor of Chemistry
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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Jacqueline Poh
Chief Executive Officer
JTC Corporation

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Cher Heng Tan
Group Chief Research and Innovation Officer
National Healthcare Group

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

12th LKYGBPC Category Judges

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Dr Josephine KWA
Independent Non Executive Director
Sembcorp Industries Ltd

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Dr LEE Shiang Long
Group Chief Technology & Digital Officer Chief Technology Officer, Defence & Public Security
ST Engineering

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Sugandhi MATTA
Chief Impact Officer
abc IMPACT

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NG Huck Hui
Assistant Chief Executive, Research and Talent Development
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

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Prof. YEOH Lean Weng
Chief Sustainability Officer
Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR)

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Frank T. ROTHAERMEL
Regents’ Professor, McDonough Chair, & Sloan Industry Studies Fellow
Georgia Institute of Technology

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Prof LOH Xian Jun
Executive Director
A*STAR Institute of Materials Research & Engineering ( A*STAR IMRE )

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Dr Yufeng WAN
Partner and Head of Energy Transition
Templewater

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Jonathan CHENG
Chief Technology Officer
Building and Construction Authority (BCA)

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Benjamin SWAN
Founder / CEO
BECO Ventures

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Prof Reginald TAN
Executive Director, Science and Engineering Research Council
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

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Dickson THIAN
Vice President, Investments
Xora

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Cyril EBERSWEILER
General Partner at SOSV and the Founder/MD of HAX

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Dr. Claus RETTIG
President Asia Pacific, Associate Member of the Executive Board
Evonik Industries AG

Open Modal

TAN Cher Heng
Group Chief, Research and Innovation
NHG Health

Open Modal

Immanuel WOO
Director, Sustainable Solutions
Temasek

Open Modal

Dr Daniel TAY
Vice President, Emerging Technology
Temasek

Open Modal

Catia CESARI
Managing Partner
Volta Circle

Open Modal

Mark HOLST
Business Opportunity Manager for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Asia-Pacific
Shell

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Prof Rachid YAZAMI
President
KVI Holdings (Singapore)

Open Modal

Karen NG
Chief of Staff
ENGIE Southeast Asia

Open Modal

Rajan K KALIDINDI
Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer for ASEAN, Korea and ANZ
GE HealthCare

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Dr Gurdev SINGH
Chief Engineering and Technology Officer
PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency

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Rowena YEO
Global Chief Technology Officer and SVP, Technology Services
Johnson & Johnson

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Dr Rosemary TAN
CEO
Leyden Labs Asia

Open Modal

Chen Ee LEE
Partner
Polaris Partners

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Prof. Ralph EICHLER
Professor Emeritus
ETH Zurich, Switzerland

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David GOLDING
Head of Global Innovation Partnerships
Innovate UK

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Chueh Loo POH
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering NUS Synthetic, Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI)
National University of Singapore

Open Modal

Yiran LU
Vice President of Investment
Granite Asia

Open Modal

FONG Saik Hay
Retired CTO ST Engineering Ltd and formerly Corporate advisor, TEMASEK and Xora Innovation

Open Modal

Mike LIM
Partner
TRIREC   

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Dr Charlie FOO
Vice President & General Manager – Enterprise/Ecosystem Business, Asia Pacific
NVIDIA Corporation

Open Modal

Dr Chris Tan
Founder of Angsana Molecular & Diagnostics and Archerfish Precision Diagnostics

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James Tang
Founding Managing Partner
Kreo Ventures

News & Stories

Singapore Management University

The Smartest Money in AI is Investing in Universities

Published on

The next artificial intelligence revolution could be founded by student innovators, but they need funding

Read More
Singapore Management University

‘MUI-Robotics’ the Thai Team From Mahidol Reached the Final 60 Teams at the 12th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition, Reiterating the Potential of AI Innovation on the World Stage

Published on

Singapore Management University (SMU) has announced the 60 finalists from over 1,500 applicants worldwide for the 12th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC), which will be held from 29 September to 2 October 2025 at the Singapore City Campus. Thai team 'MUI-Robotics' is one of the finalists.

Read More

11th LKYGBPC Statistics

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