From Idea to Market: Winners of Huawei Asia Pacific Seeds for the Future Tech4Good Competition Announced

[Singapore, September 2, 2022] On September 2, winners of Huawei Asia Pacific Seeds for the Future Tech4Good Competition were announced at the Awarding Ceremony of its Seeds for the Future Tech4Good Accelerator Camp. The two winning teams will continue their journey for Huawei Seeds for the Future Tech4Good Global Competition next January.

This Tech4Good Accelerator Camp in Singapore is one part of Huawei Asia Pacific Seeds for the Future Program, which was launched in Bangkok on August 19. During the 9-day digital boot camp, 120 outstanding students from 16 countries across the Asia Pacific region enjoyed a cross-cultural digital journey in Thailand. Meanwhile, each team prepared a "Tech4Good" pitch where they propose technical solutions to address social problems. 7 outstanding teams were given a place in this Accelerator Camp, with 5 delegations from Cambodia, South Korea, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Singapore, as well as 2 from ASEAN Foundation.

During the final Demo Day, 7 teams pitched their Tech4Good products to a panel of judges, composed by Jim Rogers, the American investor and co-founder of the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management; Dr. Yang Mee Eng, Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation; Leo Jiang, Founder of Huawei Spark Program; Mohamed Djelid, Director of UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific; Dr. Poh-Kam Wong, Emeritus Professor at NUS; as well as Professor Chee Yeow Meng, Vice Provost of NUSiness School and LKY School of Public Policies; as well as Professor Chee Yeow Meng, Vice Provost of NUS Overseas College.

In the end, two teams were tied for first place. Based on cloud service and data analytics, Team “HUAT SALE” from Singapore aims to discover daily reduced-to-clear food promotions while fighting food waste in Singapore. Team members include Yun Suh Lee from SIM University; Chan Yi Long and Tan Bo Sheng from Singapore Polytechnic; Low Chloe from Singapore Institute of Technology; and Tan Kai Ling from Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD). Themed “N-ABLE”, the delegation from ASEAN Foundation explores how to use cloud storage and AI help deaf and mute job seekers interested in technology to land a formal job with stable income. Team members are Aunizafirah Batrisyia from University Islam Sultan Sharif Ali, Brunei; Iona Dominique from Bina Nusantara University, Indonesia; Somphors Yun from Kirirom Institute of Technology, Cambodia, Ngoc Anh Nguyen from Foreign Trade University, Vietnam, and Yun Yi Ong from Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Malaysia. Both teams will compete in the Huawei Seeds for the Future Tech4Good Global Final next January.

On behalf of the competition judge committee, Jim Rogers shared how he was impressed by the program and the participants. “Huawei Seeds for the Future is a fabulous program, and it should be broadened and expanded to everywhere. All of the ideas are so brilliant and well-presented and I hope all the Seeds participants can keep pursuing their dreams in the future.”

Leo Jiang, Founder of Huawei Spark Program, said: “Huawei Seed for the Future Program is an excellent pathway to Huawei Spark, upbringing Asia talents to become future startups and contributing to the socio-economic prosperity of Asia!”

The Awarding Ceremony was graced by government officials, representatives from international organizations and private sector. Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore Ms. Jessica Tan Soon Neo delivered congratulatory remarks to the winning teams.

Mr. Jun Zhang, Vice President of Huawei Asia Pacific Public Affairs and Communications delivered a welcome speech. “Essentially, the Accelerator Camp was designed to help you understand how the real business world works and motivate you to consider the practicability of your brilliant ideas, so that you can better identify and address the challenges ahead, before you transform the ideas to realization and do public good with technology.” Jun said.

Dr. Yang Mee Eng, Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation talked about the close partnership between Huawei and ASEAN Foundation in digital talent cultivation in the region: “As our future leader, young people are the one who decide how they would like to build the world. Through the Seeds for the Future programme, ASEAN Foundation in close partnership with Huawei aspires to help the young generation achieve their fullest potential.”

During the Tech4Good Accelerator Camp, mentors from Huawei, NUS, Artificial Intelligence International Institute, as well as entrepreneurial leaders provided guidance and inspired the participants to further transform ideas to the market through workshops, case studies and seminars.

At Huawei, the Seeds participants enjoyed a face-to-face conversation with Mr. Foo Fang Yong, CEO of Huawei International, during a special session “Ask me anything by Foo”. At SMU Incubator, they discussed how tech can do public good with professionals from various sectors. For the first time in conjunction with the program, Huawei also debuted the Tech to Build Your Career seminar at SUTD, aimed at helping participants understand the future of work and life amidst rampant technological development.

Seeds for the Future is one of the key components of Huawei’s ICT talent ecosystem in Asia Pacific and across the world. On September 19, working with ASEAN Foundation, Huawei will hold Asia Pacific Digital Talent Summit during Huawei Connect 2022. The summit will bring together policymakers, researchers, industry experts, and key opinion leaders to explore the paths of building a future-ready ICT workforce and unleashing digital potential in the Asia-Pacific region.