Singapore, 4 May 2022 – The Liveability Challenge announced six shortlisted finalists on Wednesday for their solutions to help cities accelerate decarbonisation and address their resources challenges. The finalists stand a chance of securing the grand prize of up to S$1 million in project development funding.
Contenders also stand to gain a minimum of S$100,000 investment each by Amasia, Silverstrand Capital, Quest Ventures, PlanetRise and Purpose Venture Capital.
Presented by Temasek Foundation and organised by Eco-Business, The Liveability Challenge is a global platform that connects investors and entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to some of the sustainability threats facing cities in the tropics in the 21st century.
Since the first edition in 2018, the Challenge has reached out to businesses, innovators, agencies and non-governmental organisations as well as key players in the sustainability community to develop a collaborative ecosystem and support solutions through commercialisation and enterprise.
This year, more than 70 partners came onboard to crowdsource for imaginative minds and proposals at the forefront of catalysing sustainable change.
The fifth edition of the Challenge invited project proposals in the areas of; the decarbonisation of cities, meeting the increasing demand for food, and the conservation our planet’s ecosystems through nature-based solutions.
The Challenge attracted more than 400 applications from over 60 countries. All of the finalists are from Asia Pacific or Europe, with contenders from Singapore, United Kingdom, Belgium, Japan, New Zealand and Germany making the final cut.
The ideas that made the shortlist ranged from carbon capture to cell-based fish fat. The six shortlisted finalists are:
Decarbonisation finalists
Team: Red Dot Analytics (Singapore)
Solution: Low-energy data centres through artificial intelligence and digital twin technology
Team: CQUESTR8 (United Kingdom)
Solution: Permanent utility-scale CO2 sequestration for cities and industry
Food & agritechnology finalists
Team: Wasna (Belgium/Singapore)
Solution: Making cultivated meat affordable through a low-cost universal serum
Team: ImpacFat (Japan/Singapore)
Solution: Enhancing nutrition and taste of alternative meats with cell-based fat
Nature-based solutions finalists
Team: Fairventures Social Forestry (Germany)
Solution: Sustainable land management and livelihood improvement through a scalable social forestry model incorporating blended finance
Team: GAIT (New Zealand/Singapore)
Solution: Measuring carbon flux in real-time for monitoring of carbon
The shortlisting panels who evaluated their innovations were included representatives from DBS, Good Food Institute, National University of Singapore Centre for Nature-based Solutions, SMART Innovation Centre, Wavemaker Impact, Singapore Food Agency, Overseas Cooperation Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute, AgFunder Asia, Lestari Capital, ENGIE Factory, Solar Impulse Foundation, Grow Asia, Vertex Holdings, CABI, Golden Gate Ventures.
“The Liveability Challenge aims to support cutting-edge innovations that can help address some of the world’s greatest sustainability issues. This year has seen an exceptional showcase of talent and we are happy to announce six finalists who have the potential to create change at scale,” said Ms Jessica Cheam, founder and managing editor of Eco-Business.
“The climate crisis is upon us; humanity feels it impact everyday. It is through the Challenge that we can foster greater collaboration to bring solutions to a wider market,” said Ms Cheam.
The Liveability Challenge 2022 Grand Finale will take place on 9 June 2022, in partnership with Ecosperity Week 2022, Temasek’s annual sustainability event.
The six contenders will pitch their solutions to a panel of Asia’s most sought-after venture capitalists and investors.
The judges include Patti Chu, co-head of impact investment, Silverstrand Capital, John Kim, co-founder and managing partner, Amasia, Steve Melhuish, entrepreneur and impact investor Planet Rise, James Tan, managing partner, Quest Ventures, Von Leong, co-founder and general partner, Purpose Venture Capital and Lim Hock Chuan, head, programmes, Temasek Foundation.
For more information, visit The Liveability Challenge website at www.theliveabilitychallenge.org.
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Notes to Editors:
All media coverage should include a mention of The Liveability Challenge, presented by Temasek Foundation and organised by Eco-Business.
For enquiries or photos, contact:
Jeanette Mok, head of Marketing, Eco-Business - jeanette.mok@eco-business.com
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