Winning start-ups to compete at regional challenge in Jakarta 

SINGAPORE, 9 October 2015 – Two start-ups have been named winners of the Singtel Accelerator Challenge, which aims to identify innovative start-ups in Singapore and accelerate their development. Apart from winning a cash prize of S$20,000 each, these winners will now have the chance to compete in the regional Singtel Group-Samsung Regional Mobile App Challenge, which will be held in Jakarta on 8 December 2015. The overall winner for the regional challenge will receive a S$10,000 cash prize and have access to over 550 million mobile customers across 25 countries, as well as prime product placement on Samsung content and services platforms. 

The winners of this year’s Singtel Accelerator Challenge are Ambi Climate and Airfrov. Ambi Climate is a smart air conditioner controller that helps users save energy and achieve a more comfortable living environment by determining the optimum temperature. Airfrov is an online platform that pairs people who want to buy items from overseas with frequent travellers who do not mind bringing them back for a fee. More information on the winners can be found in the appendix. 

Mr Wong Soon Nam, Vice President for Consumer Products at Singtel, said: “We are very pleased that submissions doubled this year, which shows that more start-ups are keen to work with us to see how best to turn their ideas into reality. We were truly excited by the many pitches brought before us – many contained fresh, innovative solutions for smart living that can benefit everyone.  We hope to collaborate with them to bring their solutions to market, so that our customers too can benefit from these apps.” 

This Singtel Accelerator Challenge is the local leg of the Singtel Group-Samsung Regional Mobile App Challenge. All regional mobile associates of the Singtel Group, from across Asia, Australia and Africa, have organised similar competitions to identify the two best start-ups from their respective locales to compete in the Jakarta finals of the regional challenge. This year’s local challenge is focused on the theme of “Smart Living”, where solutions for everyday tasks are made better through the use of technology. Over 160 submissions were received this year – more than double that of last year. Before heading to Jakarta for the regional finals, winners from the respective local competitions will attend a two-day mentorship programme in Singapore to hone their pitching skills. 

More information on the Singtel Accelerator Challenge and Singtel Group-Samsung Regional Mobile App Challenge can be found at: http://www.SingtelAccelerator.com and www.singtelsamsungappchallenge.com respectively. 

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Appendix

Winners of the Singtel Accelerator Challenge