Youths will get the opportunity to come up with business ideas for River Hongbao 2019, pit them against other teams in a hackathon, to get the chance and seed money to turn their business dreams into reality.
SINGAPORE – For the first time in River Hongbao’s 33-year history, youths who emerge top in an entrepreneurship competition – River Hongbao Hackathon (RHBHacks) – will get to sell their wares or services during the River Hongbao event in February 2019, which typically attracts more than 1 million visitors during its run.
RHBHacks targets the youths, aged 18 to 26 years old in tertiary institutions in Singapore. They can form teams of between two to five people, and will be mentored by retail expert from Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd (Mapletree), a leading real estate development, investment, capital and property management company headquartered in Singapore. RHBHacks is organised by the River Hongbao organizing committee and sponsored by Mapletree.
The first event to kick off RHBHacks was an Information Session held at Mapletree Business City Town Hall on 20th November, which was attended by students and staff from the universities and polytechnics.
At Mentorship Workshop by Mapletree retail expert for tertiary students who are interested in participating RHBHacks.
Interaction at Mentorship Workshop
The RHBHacks Challenge will be on 3-4 January 2019, and the shortlisted teams would present their business ideas. The top three teams will each receive Cash Prize of $2,000 and Seed Money of $4,800 to implement their ideas and run their stalls at the River Hongbao 2019 – Bicentennial Edition from 3-10 February 2019. Each of the three winning teams will also pledge to contribute 70 percent of profits made to appointed charity organizations, and retain 30 percent of the profits.
Said Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman of Mapletree: “We believe in generating positive outcomes in the communities we operate in. The River Hongbao hackathon event will not only empower youths to think out of the box and realize their business ideas, it will go some way in nurturing the spirit of entrepreneurship. We look forward to such first-of-its-kind event, which will hopefully encourage our tertiary students.”
Mr Ang Wei Neng, Chairman of River Hongbao (RHB) 2019 and MP for Jurong GRC added, “Mr Ong Ye Kung, Advisor to River Hongbao and Minister for Education has emphasized the need to incorporate entrepreneurship into the learning experiences of our students. The RHB Hackathon is a perfect platform for the students to hone their entrepreneur skills and put them to the test in an authentic but relatively safe environment. I dare the tertiary students to take up the real challenge which can be enriching, exciting and enjoyable.”
RHB Hacks is another unique facet of River Hongbao 2019. While the event is a veteran feature in Singapore’s annual event calendar, having been run since 1986, River Hongbao 2019 dovetails with Singapore’s bicentennial year.
Apart from the hackathon, another first is that it will feature the most spectacular fireworks in its history, choreographed and delivered by award-winning pyrotechnics experts from around the world. Tickets for the fireworks display by these international experts were snapped up online within five hours after its release on 20th October.
Information on RHB Hacks
To register for RHB Hacks, go to www.riverhongbao.sg/hacks/. Submission deadline for business proposals will close on 22nd December 2018.
