SINGAPORE – Coffee grounds which can be recycled into solid fuel, candles and accessory trays. Pre-loved clothes which are modified into new wearable designs. Plastic bags which can be re-used as materials for student art workshops.

With “Creativity in Sustainability” as the theme for this year’s Mapletree-SCCCI River Hongbao Hackathon (”RHBHacks”), the 11 finalist teams who made their business pitches before a judging panel today came up with innovative business ideas which are anchored on environmental sustainability.

The Guest-of-Honour at the event was Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry.

RHBHacks 2022 is sponsored by Mapletree Investments (“Mapletree” or “the Group”) and supported by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (“SCCCI”) for the fourth consecutive year. 

The three teams selected as the winners of RHBHacks 2022 were: Cofeco, Commenhers and Unbox It. The Most Innovative Award was presented to Cofeco. The newly introduced Best Pitch Award was won by Deko. (Further details on the winning teams can be found under Additional Notes.)

The three teams will each receive S$2,000 prize money and S$5,000 seed money to develop and sell their product or service at River Hongbao (“RHB”) 2022, which will be organised from 30 January to 6 February 2022 at Gardens by the Bay.

Mr Tan Wah Yeow, Mapletree Corporate Social Responsibility Board Committee Member, said, “Future generations will have to confront the impact of environmental challenges such as diminishing natural resources and growing waste. Sustainability is a key focus for Mapletree and I am glad to see that RHBHacks has given these young entrepreneurs the opportunity to not only dream big, but also craft innovative, green solutions for the future.”

Inaugurated in 2019, RHBHacks provides youths with the opportunity to come up with business ideas for the annual RHB event, one of Singapore’s most iconic Chinese New Year events. 

This year, the 11 shortlisted teams of between 2 to 5 members were drawn from a field of 84 students from the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics universities.

In crafting and refining their ideas, the teams attended two virtual retail workshops on 3 and 10 November where they were mentored by Ms Gwen Au, a retail expert from Mapletree Commercial Property Management.

Mr Roland Ng, SCCCI President, said, “One of our priorities is to nurture young business leaders to drive society forward. RHBHacks is not only a platform for these youths to interact and learn from experts and from each other, the theme of ‘creative sustainability’ also means that they are giving back to society with their ideas.” 

Mr Thomas Chua, Chairman of the RHB 2022 Organising Committee, added, “This is the fourth year of RHBHacks and every year, the participating youths continue to inspire us with their ideas, drive and passion. RHBHacks has become an established platform for the seeding of entrepreneurial talents in Singapore.”

Photos

High-res photos can be downloaded here.

Team Deko receiving the Best Pitch Award from Ms Ashley Ang, Assistant Manager, Jumbo Group of Restaurants.

Team Cofeco, receiving the Top 3 Finalists Award from Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry

Team Commenhers, receiving the Top 3 Finalists Award from Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry

Team Unbox It, receiving the Top 3 Finalists Award from Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry

(L-R) Mr Tan Wah Yeow, Mapletree CSR Board Committee Member; Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry; Mr Thomas Chua, Chairman of the RHB 2022 Organising Committee; and Mr Lu Cheng Yang, Secretary General, SCCCI at the RHBHacks 2022 Prize Presentation Ceremony

List of Winners