Overview

DBS Foundation awards social impact prizes at the global, regional and country level to innovative start-ups, businesses and social enterprises that focus on solving pertinent social and environmental challenges faced by cities of today. We collaborate with like-minded partners to identify the most deserving candidates to build a better future for Asia.

Global

10^th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC)

Through SMU’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship LKYGBPC, the DBS Foundation Social Impact Prize aims to identify sustainable and scalable business solutions that help address crucial social problems and make cities of the future more inclusive, healthier and greener.

We received 788 applications from 63 countries and 650 universities around the world. Check out the teams that made it into the Finals and vote for your favourite team!

For more information on the main programme, visit SMU’s LKYGBPC page here.

Regional

Singapore International Foundation (SIF)

In October 2019, DBS Foundation partnered SIF at their 10th Anniversary celebration of Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSE) Programme to award the DBSF x SIF Social Impact Prize. This programme brings together an international ecosystem of multi-sectorial partners with over 1,100 alumni from 30 countries.

Three YSE alumni, who demonstrated compelling achievements in their social entrepreneurial ventures post-programme, were awarded S$10,000 each and provided capacity building support from the Foundation. Social enterprises were assessed based on their business’s growth, social impact, potential scalability, and contribution to the social enterprise sector.

Winners of the DBSF x SIF Social Impact Prize were:

• WateROAM from Singapore for leveraging technology for impact;
• Ecodoe from Indonesia for resilience and focus on their social mission; and
• Langit Collective from Malaysia for blending the old and new to create sustainable impact.

Hong Kong

DBS Social Impact Award

The DBS Social Impact Award in Hong Kong is an endeavour from DBS Bank to identify early-stage enterprises that address social issues with innovative business ideas. DBS Bank collaborates with different partners in the ecosystem to identify and nurture social innovators that enable us to live larger than ourselves and work towards a better world.

Five DBS Social Impact Awards are being awarded to SEs in Hong Kong in 2019 with a total prize money of HK$250,000. DBS Hong Kong has partnered and given out awards with Hong Kong Retail Management Association to identify solutions in green retail space; Golden Age Foundation for smart ageing solutions, Good Seed for design solutions that do good, Fullness Social Enterprise Society to identify business ideas that create social impact.