National Youth Entrepreneurship Awards 2021

 

Media Release

EMBARGOED UNTIL 14 May 2021, 8pm

 

ACE Partners with *SCAPE and EDGE to Organise the National Youth Entrepreneurship Awards (NYEA), Celebrating Youth Entrepreneurs in Singapore

 

 

● NYEA celebrates and recognises youths who have distinguished themselves through their entrepreneurial qualities and contributions to the Singapore startup ecosystem.

● For 2021, NYEA is focused on youths who have risen above the occasion during the pandemic with innovative solutions that help build a more robust and resilient Singapore.

 

Singapore, 14 May 2021 — Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), the national advocate for Singapore’s startup ecosystem, has partnered with *SCAPE (Ecosystem Partner) and EDGE (Supporting Partner) to host the award ceremony for the National Youth Entrepreneurship Awards (NYEA) 2021, a national competition celebrating the achievements of budding youth entrepreneurs in Singapore.

This year’s award ceremony is held at the Singapore Discovery Centre – the Official Venue Sponsor and Community Partner of NYEA 2021. ACE and Singapore Discovery Centre share a common mission to support Singapore’s innovation-led economy and start-up ecosystem which is integral to the Singapore Story and a bedrock of our nation’s progress.

First started in 2017, NYEA aims to be the platform for aspiring youth entrepreneurs looking to contribute to Singapore’s startup ecosystem and to attract and engage youths with an interest in entrepreneurship, drawing them into ACE’s ecosystem and startup community.

 

NYEA 2021 – For the People

2020 has been a landmark year as Covid-19 led to a global lockdown that had an unprecedented impact on Singapore’s economy. This included startups who were hard-hit and faced challenges amidst COVID-19. That is why NYEA’s theme for 2021 is “For the People” – To help our entrepreneurs get back on their feet and revitalise Singapore’s innovation and enterprise ecosystem.

NYEA 2021 recognises youth who have displayed entrepreneurial qualities and risen to the occasion with innovative solutions to help Singapore navigate the uncertainties of the pandemic, diligently building a more robust and inclusive community for all.

In total, ACE and *SCAPE gave out 8 awards which fall under four categories: Post-Secondary Education (Gold, Silver, Bronze), University & Open (Gold, Silver, Bronze), Impact Entrepreneur of the Year, and *SCAPE Most Innovative Entrepreneur award.

To determine the most suitable winners, ACE and *SCAPE employed a rigorous selection process which consists of three stages: Nomination, Central Judging, and the Grand Finals. Applicants were judged based on their Innovative Solutions, Achievements & Contributions, Entrepreneurial Spirit, Presentation & Depth of Understanding.

At the start of 2021, ACE welcomed nominations nationwide, from all industries, including non- technology startups. Selected applicants then pitched and shared how they contributed to the Singapore entrepreneurial landscape in front of a pre-selection jury during the Central Judging stage, where a total of 11 startups were shortlisted.

These startups were then invited to the Grand Finals on 30 April, where they presented in front of jury panel which included Saurav Bhattacharyya (CEO & Co-founder of Quantum Inventions and Member of the Board for ACE), David Chua (CEO of National Youth Council and Chairman of *SCAPE), Jeffrey Seah (Partner at Quest Ventures and Member of the Board for Assisi Hospice and Singapore Discovery Centre), and Wong Hong Ting (CEO & Co-founder of 2359 Media Pte Ltd).

 

The winners for NYEA 2021 are:

Post-Secondary Education (Gold): Gavriel Tan (Altimate Nutrition),

Post-Secondary Education (Silver): Winston Ng (Finute Pte Ltd),

Post-Secondary Education (Bronze): Kazel Koh (CyberLife.ai),

University & Open (Gold): Daryl Lim (Augmentus Pte Ltd),

University & Open (Silver): Johann Wah (Men’s Best Friend LLP),

University & Open (Bronze): Sean Neo (Crunch Cutlery),

Impact Entrepreneur Award: Gabriel Tan (Bamboo Builders),

*SCAPE Most Innovative Entrepreneur Award: Gina Cheong (Aww Media Pte Ltd).

 

These eight startups were selected from four categories and celebrated their win at the NYEA award presentation ceremony today.

Distinguished Guest-of-Honour, Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth Ms Low Yen Ling, was invited to present the awards to the finalists.

 

“Young entrepreneurs are being tested in these trying times brought forth by the Covid-19 pandemic. Obstacles abound in an unpredictable environment that challenged their creativity, innovativeness and capacity to thrive.

Our winning startup is one that has clearly demonstrated their resilience and ability to survive by tackling challenges head-on. Aww Media is a boutique home-grown production company that specialises in music-driven videos to help clients achieve their social media marketing goals. To stay relevant, Aww Media had to innovate its usual business norms and managed to pivot well by taking a different spin in their production while maintaining its flare to the works delivered. In addition, Aww Media continued to create positive impact in nurturing and grooming youths by actively engaging them as part of their talent development pipeline.

*SCAPE is proud to be an ecosystem partner of ACE once again, for their 2021 National Youth Entrepreneurship Awards. Without a doubt, the winners showcased their immense potential, reflective of the many young entrepreneurs out there, in driving meaningful and positive changes within our society.” said Ivy Lim, Executive Director, *SCAPE Co. Ltd.

 

“ACE is very proud of all our winners tonight. They embody the very essence of the innovative spirit which we at ACE strive to inculcate through NYEA. We received a very strong field of participants this year amidst the backdrop of the global pandemic. The jury panel had a hard time discerning the winners, a testament to the resiliency of our youths. I congratulate and salute them as well as all who participated this year.” said Dominic Ang, CEO, ACE.

 

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For media enquiries, please email media@ace.org.sg

 

About NYEA
The National Youth Entrepreneurship Awards (NYEA) is a national competition to celebrate the achievements of budding youth entrepreneurs in Singapore. Organised by ACE and *SCAPE, it is awarded to youths who have displayed entrepreneurial qualities, and recognises their contributions to the Singapore startup ecosystem. NYEA first started in 2017, with the objective of attracting and engaging youths with an interest in entrepreneurship, and drawing them into ACE’s ecosystem and startup community. It aims to be the platform for inspiring youths to embark on entrepreneurship and contribute towards the growth of Singapore’ startup ecosystem. For more information, please visit https://nyeawards.com.

 

About ACE

ACE is the National Voice for Singapore Startup Ecosystem. ACE focuses on five pillars that are crucial for any ecosystem: Startups, Corporations, Institutes of Higher Learning, Risk Capital, and Public Sector. As the driving force behind Singapore as an Innovation Island, ACE is creating a virtual and physical space where ideas, knowledge, and capability are transformed into value efficiently. Established in 2003 by the Ministry of Trade & Industry, ACE is supported by the Singapore government under the patronage of Dr. Tan See Leng, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Manpower, and Second Minister for Trade and Industry. For more information, please visit https://www.ace.org.sg

 

About *SCAPE
*SCAPE Co. Ltd is a non-profit organisation with its mission and vision rooted in support of youth, talent and leadership development. *SCAPE aims to facilitate youth-oriented programmes in the areas of Creative Arts, Media and Entertainment as well as Entrepreneurship and Careers to inspire and empower the youths to DREAM IT AND LIVE IT at *SCAPE. As the integrated talent and resource hub for young people in Singapore, *SCAPE offers a series of programmes for youths to learn new skills, harness their creativity, and create something impactful while cultivating an enterprising spirit.

*SCAPE Entrepreneurship and Careers programming cluster aims to develop the next generation of youth entrepreneurs and start-ups by curating developmental/accelerator programmes such as Creative Fellowship, workshops, and networking sessions on top of offering them access to co-working facilities and community. No dream is too small, no dream is too big. *SCAPE wants to empower youths to be inspired to come forward and share their interests, share their dreams. Through guidance and facilitation, *SCAPE wants to see their dreams turn into ideas, and ideas into reality. Living their dreams should no longer be a dream at *SCAPE. For more information, please visit https://scape.sg.

 

About EDGE
EDGE is the youth wing of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) that support, develop, and empower youth entrepreneurs in Singapore. EDGE connects young founders, student entrepreneurship clubs, industry partners, government, and ecosystem players to grow and foster a more cohesive and collaborative youth entrepreneurship scene in Singapore. For more information, please visit https://edge.org.sg.

 

 

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