At a Singapore thought leadership and networking event, participants can tap into the right sustainability mindsets to avert irreversible global calamities
At the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) event on 25 Oct, the fourth edition of the Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge (SOIC) was launched to encourage crowdsourcing of innovative sustainability solutions to address global and regional industry needs in the areas of Sustainable Materials, Renewable Energy, and Zero Waste.
Addressable challenges range from P2P energy trading between smart buildings, to recycling-friendly packaging innovations, to water usage optimization for farming, to non-conventional applications of solar technologies.
Also, the three-day ticketed event features the Trade and Connectivity Challenge (TCC) by EnterpriseSG, where this year’s theme centers around supply chain resilience and sustainability — to help participating business leaders to tackle emerging challenges in climate change and global logistics. Startups and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises will have the opportunity to work with six leading global and corporate partners across the maritime, logistics and trade sectors to address detailed challenge statements.
TCC participants will receive one-to-one mentoring sessions, get to co-develop and pilot innovative solutions, and participate in paid trials to demonstrate real-world applications. Firms stand to benefit from a total pool of S$100,000 in grants as prizes.
Another event centering on open innovation and sustainability at SWITCH is the India Open Innovation Challenge (IOIC). Technology SMEs and startups can tap into the event to explore business opportunities in India’s rapidly urbanizing and digitalizing economy. Following the Abu Dhabi-Singapore Smart Cities Open Innovation Challenge rolled out in 2021; and two Southeast Asia OICs rolled out in 2020
and 2021; IOIC marks the latest in cross-border efforts to help business access demand for technology collaborations overseas. Through IOIC, Indian corporates can access new ideas from global startups and tech SMEs to meet industry needs, while Singapore and regional companies can gain access to a large Indian market and scale further into the region.
