Three innovative teams have been named winners in this year's ONEChallenge Award - the inaugural broadband competition in Singapore. ONEChallenge, organised by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), aims to identify and recognise the next generation of broadband talents, allowing...
Singapore, 01 March 2000 | For Immediate ReleaseThree innovative teams have been named winners in this year's ONEChallenge Award - the inaugural broadband competition in Singapore. ONEChallenge, organised by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), aims to identify and recognise the next generation of broadband talents, allowing them to test their ideas, and develop as local broadband start-ups. In addition to the three prize winners, there is also a special award for "Most Refreshing Broadband".
CyberStudio was named the Top Prize winner, whilst PureCodes Consulting and SamCast were named Runners-up. The "Most Refreshing Broadband" special award was given to 5th Wave. Annex A lists the winners' details and citations.
The winners will receive their prizes at the ONEChallenge Award presentation ceremony, which will be held in conjunction with Industry.Nite.2000 on 1 March 2000, 6:00 pm., at the Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre. Guest-of-Honour, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will present the trophies to the winning entries.
Through the ONEChallenge competition, IDA hopes to spur more innovative broadband ideas and activities to complement Singapore's goal of becoming a leading info-communications hub in the Asia-Pacific. It would also like to encourage and give recognition to both local and foreign enterprising companies and individuals to develop broadband multimedia content in Singapore. These successful innovative talents could potentially use Singapore as a launch pad to the Asian market.
Looking forward to future ONEChallenge competitions, Parliamentary Secretary, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim said, "With continued support, we hope to make the next ONEChallenge a bigger scale competition, by expanding it to attract more foreign talents' participation. It is our wish for Singapore to be the cradle for successful Asian start-ups."
The ONEChallenge competition was launched on 21 October 1999 and received a total of 80 registrations from both local and foreign contestants. Contestants were evaluated on the completeness of their business plans; innovative use of broadband capabilities in delivering applications or services; market potential of prototypes; and the submissions' attractiveness to investors. Elements, such as the team's ability to present a compelling business case and overall business plan opportunities were evaluated. Annex B lists details of the full evaluation criteria.
The ONEChallenge evaluation committee comprised leading representatives from the venture capitalists and technology industry. Besides workshops that were organised to assist contestants in translating their innovative broadband ideas into concrete plans, online mentors from the industry were also identified for ONEChallenge. These mentors provide contestants with valuable feedback and advice in the formulation of their business plans throughout the competition period. See Annex C for judges and mentors lists.
The top prize winner receives a trophy, S$30,000 cash and in-kind prizes. Runners-up will each receive a trophy, S$10,000 cash and in-kind prizes. The winner for the "Most Refreshing Broadband" award receives a trophy and S$10,000 cash. All in-kind prizes for the ONEChallenge competition are sponsored by Microsoft, National Computer Systems, Rational Software and SUN Microsystems. Winners can expect referrals to relevant grant schemes, venture capitalists and angels.
INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is a dynamic organisation with an integrated perspective to developing, promoting and regulating info-communications in Singapore. In the fast-changing and converging spheres of telecommunications, information and media technologies, IDA will be the catalyst for change and growth in Singapore's evolution into a vibrant global info-communications technology centre. For more information, please visit www.imda.gov.sg.
For media clarification, please contact:
Ms Jennifer Toh
Assistant Manager, Corporate Communication
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Tel: (65) 6211-0508
Fax: (65) 6211-2227
Email: jennifer_toh@imda.gov.sg
Annex A: ONEChallenge Winners & Citations
Top Prize Winner:
CyberStudio
- Mr Chen Ming
- Mr Victor Goh Yuan Sheng*
- Mr Qiu Junyi
- Mr Avijit Roy
- Dr Francis Tay Eng Hock
Citation from CyberStudio:
Mr Victor Goh said: "ONEChallenge has been a very timely competition for us in this fast pace world of e-commerce. Through this competition, we are able to straighten our thinking, sharpen our focus and identify the next killer application in 3D interactive applications. The identification of a niche in the world of Internet is very critical for the company to find its place in cyberspace."
He added, "Not forgetting the excellent assistance that has been provided by IDA. Indeed, IDA has been very savvy to launch a national competition in such a short time - an important factor in this Internet era."
Runners-up:
PureCodes Consulting
- Mr Amos Jen Kim Fei*
- Mr Lee Chin Peng
- Mr Surjadi Sjariffudin
Citation from PureCodes Consulting:
Mr Amos Jen said: "MyBizDesk is a highly customizable virtual workspace accessible through any web-enabled devices anywhere, anytime. It is specially designed for busy business executives on the move and SMEs who needs quick access to critical real-time information. It also provides customizable e-workflow for vertical industry, document management, secured email, calendaring and to-do list facilities."
"ONEChallenge gave us an excellent opportunity to share our business idea to key people in the industry as well as to affirm our vision", added Mr Jen.
SamCast
- Mr Alexander Ho
- Mr Lim Jiau Jit*
Citation from SamCast:
Mr Lim Jiau Jit said, "ONEChallenge is a very good opportunity for startups in Singapore to gain exposure in many ways. Some of the ways include, learning how to write a business plan, opportunities to interact with people from the IT industry and access to the investors and other dot com start-ups. It is good in the long run that IDA continues to organise competitions of such nature to encourage the start-ups to come forward."
"Initially I have no idea about how to source for funds. Through this competition, I have learnt how to get funds and establish contacts of which I should meet. It would be great if IDA could play a more active role in matchmaking the start-ups with industry partners as this is usually one of the first major hurdles encountered for start-ups," added Mr Lim.
Special Award (Most Refreshing Broadband Award):
5th Wave
- Ms Rowena Cheong Wai Sim
- Mr Koh Boon Kiat*
- Mr Phua Thong Chee
Citation from 5th Wave:
Mr Phua Thong Chee said, "Taking part in the ONEChallenge competition has been a unique learning experience for us. Unlike other 'talk only' competitions, we were required to back up our business idea with an actual prototype. We had to put in effort to ensure that our idea will not only impress on paper, but also work in practice."
* Denotes: Team leader for the group.
Annex B: ONEChallenge Evaluation Criteria
1) Submission Requirements:
- Submission of prototype / mockup
- Completeness of prototype / mockup to demonstrate business idea
- Submission of business plan
- Completeness of business plan
2) Compelling Broadband Application:
- Application that suits users / markets' needs
- Creation of a new, exciting market
- Innovative use of broadband capabilities in delivering application / service
3) Business Plan and Prototypes / Mockup
- Clear explanation of opportunity and competitive advantage
- Market potential
- Competitive strategies
- Attractiveness to investors (includes cost of investment, return of investment / expected time and pay-off amounts to investors)
4) Oral Presentation
- Team's communication skills in presenting a compelling business case
- Team's composition (includes capabilities and track records)
5) Overall impression of business plan's opportunity
(Bonus points are given to very attractive ideas)
Annex C: ONEChallenge Judges and Mentors
Profiles of the ONEChallenge judges:
- Mrs Lee Ai Ming, Head of IP Department, Rodyk & Davidson
Mrs Lee Ai Ming is a partner in the law firm of Rodyk & Davidson where she heads the Technology and Intellectual Property Group. She works closely with high technology businesses both domestically and abroad on technology-related transactions.
- Mr Lionel Lim, Executive Managing Director, SUN Microsystems Pte Ltd
Mr Lionel Lim has more than 18 years experience in the Asian Computer Industry, particularly Asean. He joined the company in 1988 and was responsible for setting up the Asean Operations, with direct offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and India.
Mr Lim was instrumental in building SUN's presence in South-East-Asia which now includes Singapore as its Regional Business Headquarters, the Asia Pacific Data Center supporting the company's mission critical computer systems and network operations from Japan to India and extensive training centers in the various countries. Most recently, he was the prime mover in the setup of JAVA Competency Centers (JCC) in Singapore, Malaysia and India where JAVA skills and expertise are being developed to turn these countries into potential nett-exporters of technology, rather than technology importers.
Prior to SUN, Mr Lim had held several senior management positions throughout his 9 year tenure in Hewlett-Packard. His last held position in Hewlett-Packard was Director of Sales, Hewlett-Packard Singapore.
- Mr S Mohan, Chief Executive Officer, Spacedisk Pte Ltd
Mr S Mohan is one of the founders of Spacedisk as well as its thought leader for the corporation. As the driving force behind the vision and day-to-day operations of Spacedisk, Mr Mohan keeps the company moving in the right direction in the ever-changing Internet infrastructure market place. Mr Mohan's straightforward philosophy that honesty, happy employees, and staying within budget are the keys to building and maintaining a strong, successful company and has made him a successful serial entrepreneur.
Before founding Spacedisk, Mr Mohan was a consultant with Datapro. At Datapro, he was head of the Asia-Pacific custom consulting division. While with Datapro, Mr. Mohan started the division focused on strategic consulting for the telecommunications industry. He has worked on marketing and deployment strategies with major telecommunications companies such as AT&T, British Telecom, KDD, Korea Telecom, VSNL (India) and several others.
- Dr Juzar Motiwalla, CEO, Kent Ridge Digital Lab
Dr Juzar Motiwalla is the Chief Executive Officer of Kent Ridge Digital Labs (KRDL). KRDL is a 350-person R&D Laboratory in Singapore. Dr Motiwalla has led the development of several international joint research ventures, with Apple, Ericsson, HP, IBM and Johns Hopkins. KRDL has set up eight new ventures recently, with several operating in the US. Dr Motiwalla is on the Boards of several new ventures, including PixAround.com, Star+Globe Technologies, KRIS Technology, ThirdVoice and DigiSAFE.
He was a Board Member of Singapore's National Computer Board for 8 years and past President of the Singapore Computer Society.
- Dr Thomas Ng, Managing Director, TDF Management Pte Ltd
Dr Thomas Ng is the founder and Managing Director of Venture TDF, a venture capital firm based in Singapore. He is a member of the National Science and Technology Board, Singapore since 1994.
Prior to that, he was the founder and Managing Director of Genelabs Diagnostics, a fully owned subsidiary of Genelabs Technologies Inc.; a NASDAQ listed company of which he was a member of the Board of Directors. Dr Ng held several management positions at the DuPont Company. He has numerous publications and holds four patents worldwide. Dr Ng received his BS, MS and Ph.D. in Bacteriology and biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
- Mr Martin Mulia Tan, President, Alpha Funding Corporation
Alpha Funding Corporation provides premier consulting and specialist services in the realm of financial, business and manpower enhancements, project management, corporate restructuring, human resource management, business development, market intelligence and training. Alpha Funding Corporation also invests in high technology ventures, mainly at the seed level.
Mr Martin Tan has experience and is actively involved in the area of financial diagnosis & assessment, fund raising, direct investment, corporate debt restructuring, financial re-engineering, project finance, specialised finance, financial risk management, asset & liability management, feasibility & risk analysis, strategic investments as well as mergers & acquisitions. He is currently involved in providing such financial and management consultancy to companies in order for them to obtain funding for their various projects, which covers all industries in Asia, Europe and USA. Moreover, he is actively advising and consulting clients on financial re-engineering and debt restructuring through specialised financial management instruments, in order to maximise the client's financial objectives. He has in the past been responsible for successfully arranging debt & project financing, strategic investments as well as equity funding / venture capital financing from prominent world-wide corporations for the benefit of numerous companies in the Asia Pacific region. In addition, he has been responsible for identifying and investing into critical seed-level high technology companies.
- Mr Michael Yap, Venture Partner, TDF Management Pte Ltd
Mr Michael Yap is a Venture Partner at Venture TDF and a CEO of Commerce Exchange. Prior to joining TDF, Mr Yap was the Chief Executive of the National Computer Board (NCB) of Singapore. The NCB, a statutory board with more than 700 professional staff, has overall responsibility for the development of information technology in Singapore. Mr Yap has served as a board member of several organizations including the Singapore Broadcasting Authority, National Library Board, Telecommunications Authority of Singapore, and the Singapore Science Center Board. Mr Yap was recently recognized by BusinessWeek's 50 Stars of Asia as the thought leader of Asia's IT industry.
The panel of mentors includes:
- Mr Reto Callegari, CEO, Adval CIC (S) Pte Ltd
- Mr Steven Eskenazi, General Partner, Walden International Investment Group
- Mr Nikunj Jinsi, Managing Director, AsiaTech Ventures Ltd
- Mr Lim Soon Hock, Chairman, Plan B Technologies Pte Ltd
- Mr Loo Hock Voon, Executive Director, Walden International Investment Group
- Mr Tan Thye Seng, Chairman / CEO, Ginosko Management
- Mr Winston Tan, Managing Director, Corporate Brokers International Pte Ltd
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