[22 March 2002]
Sixteen out of 202 International Teams Short-listed For Semi-Finals of Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition Organised by SMU

Seven Singapore teams make it to Top 16

Sixteen teams out of a total of 202 international entries have been short-listed to compete in the semi-finals of the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition organised by the Singapore Management University (SMU).

The 16 semi-finalist teams comprise: six from Singapore, one combination team from Singapore and Australia, three from USA, two from India, and one each from Philippines, Hongkong, Canada and Indonesia. Half of the 202 submissions were from Singapore institutions.

The six criteria used in assessing the short-listed business plans were:

• Overview of Company
• Summary of business plan
• Information on product
• The current market, competitors and competitive advantage of product
• Key issues company needs to resolve in order to further develop the business plan
• Viability of business plan

To maintain impartiality, teams remained anonymous for this round of selection. The business plans were randomly grouped and each evaluated by two judges.

Companies that fielded judges include world-renowned companies and corporations like Citibank, Egon Zehnder International, Boston Consulting Group, JP Morgan and government agencies Economic Development Board (EDB) and Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). Venture capitalists like JAFCO Investment (Asia Pacific) Ltd, Crimson Ventures, Springboard-Harper Investment Pte Ltd, UOB Venture Management, Temasek Capital and Asia Techno Ventures were also involved in this preliminary round of judging.

The 16 semi-finalists are required to submit their 5,000-word business plans to SMU by Monday, 22 April 2002 and the six finalists will be announced on Tuesday, 15 May 2002.

The LKY Global Business Plan Competition marks the first ever international business plan competition to be organised at the undergraduate level, targeting students from universities, colleges and polytechnics internationally.

More than 500 students from 74 universities spanning 19 countries submitted 202 business concepts for this inaugural year of the competition. An international panel of judges comprising business leaders, venture capitalists and academics from 12 countries including USA, India, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Singapore were roped in the assess the business plans.

Participating teams stand to win up to a total of US$69,000 in prize money (first prize of US$20,000), a complimentary trip to Singapore and a two-night stay at a luxurious Singapore hotel to make their presentation to a panel of international judges for the Finals.

The Citigroup, Cisco Systems, Egon Zehnder International, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and Shangri-La Hotel Singapore are the sponsors for this year's competition. The Economic Development Board and Infocomm Development Authority have also pledged for their support for the competition.