FedEx Express (FedEx), a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. and one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, today announced the Winner and 3 Special Mentions of the 2021 edition of its Small Business Grant Contest (SBGC) in the AMEA region (Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa). Four companies from Singapore, the Philippines and South Korea shared a prize pool of US$69,000, each receiving a grant to accelerate their growth across the region.
This year, FedEx collaborated with Forbes Asia to recruit future-ready small businesses and start-ups from its Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list. A panel of judges from FedEx and Forbes Asia selected the SBGC winners from among the region’s leading emerging entrepreneurs across a variety of industry sectors. Four winning companies stood out for their novel business ideas and innovative solutions helping to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues.
The Winner received a grand prize worth US$ 30,000:
- Singapore: Carolyn Lam, Co-founder, Us2.ai – a machine learning-based medical software company
The following three small businesses were accorded Special Mention and awarded cash prize of US$13,000 each:
- South Korea: Victor Ching, Founder and CEO, Miso – a housekeeping service app
- Singapore: Levana Sani, Co-founder and CEO, Nalagenetics – a genetic testing company
- The Philippines: Paul Rivera, CEO and Co-founder, Kalibrr – an AI-powered recruitment company
“Nurturing entrepreneurs has always been one of FedEx priorities as we believe future economic development and our wellbeing relies on these innovators. That’s exactly why FedEx has been strongly supporting and advocating for small businesses communities for decades,” said Kawal Preet, president of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) at FedEx Express. “It was invigorating to see the passion, dedication and innovation shown by the participants. From on-demand help to ease our everyday lives to AI-powered healthcare solutions to solve the world’s the leading chronic disease, the winning companies truly demonstrated the insight and ideas required to take our society into the future. We cannot be more thrilled to be part of their journey, helping these rising start-ups unleash their full potential and take their business to the global stage.”
First launched in the U.S. in 2012, FedEx expanded SBGC to international markets, including selected APAC markets in 2016.
