DBS and the National University of Singapore are conducting a regional competition that will identify and support promising social ventures that have the potential to generate sustainable and scalable social impact in Asia.The DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia is a spin-off from Start-Up@Singapore (S@S), a business plan competition. The S@S initiated a social enterprise category two years back and this was extremely successful, with 118 entries in this segment last year alone, or 25 percent of all entries received. In light of this popularity, the NUS Entrepreneurship Centre saw it fit to initiate a standalone competition and decided to partner DBS for this purpose.”NUS has built up a wealth of experience, industry connections and international networks in the area of social entrepreneurship,” explained Professor Wong Poh Kam, Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre, adding this is a valuable resource for budding social entrepreneurs who need help in growing their social ventures.The Social Venture Challenge offers participating entrepreneurs the chance to obtain seed funding, mentorship and training, besides allowing them access to a network of mentors, impact investors and resource organisations.“Through the DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia, we offer a structured and holistic approach to support social entrepreneurship. This will allow NUS and DBS to jointly influence and inspire social entrepreneurs, and make a significant impact on the social innovation scene across Asia,” according to Professor Wong.Karen Ngui, Group Head of Strategic Marketing & Communications at DBS Bank said that through this collaboration, DBS hopes “to raise greater awareness on how businesses can indeed create social impact”.
The competition is accepting entries until 28 January 2014 and the semi finalists selected will be flown to Singapore for a 3-day boot camp where they can refine their business models and be mentored. A total of six participants will be selected for the final, and of these, three teams will receive cash prizes of up to S$30,000 and other follow-on support from pipeline partners. Submit your application for the competition now: http://socialventurechallenge.asia/competition/
