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Building a sustainable future, together.

Towards a low-carbon economy
As part of its Sustainability Strategy, OCBC Bank has unveiled a five-year Climate Strategy to support its actions in building a sustainable future. To preserve a liveable planet for current and future generations, it is crucial for institutions, businesses and people to work together and transition to a low-carbon economy. As a financial institution, it plays a key pivotal role in helping with this transition. 

OCBC Bank considers innovation and technology to be key drivers in achieving its vision of being regional leaders in sustainable and responsible banking for a low-carbon economy by 2026. The OCBC Sustainability Innovation Challenge is a key initiative for the Bank to lead and sponsor innovative solutions for sustainable innovation in the region by working closely with business partners and stakeholders in the ecosystem.

About Sustainability Innovation Challenge

Striving toward circularity with SATS

In the inaugural edition of the challenge, OCBC Bank is proud to collaborate with SATS to address challenges in food production – chiefly the management and reduction of food and packaging waste.  

The Bank believes that with its financial network, and SATS, with their culinary and technical expertise, can create a greater impact in this area by working together. Addressing this problem will not only improve food security but also reduce carbon emissions.

In addition to helping SATS achieve its goal of halving food wastage in all operations by 2028, it is hoped that the OCBC Sustainability Innovation Challenge will also lead to new, disruptive solutions that will help the broader food ecosystem reduce the proportion of wastage in food production. 

About SATS


As the largest food solutions provider in Asia, SATS combines technology with the passion, creativity and talent of their people to develop quality food products and services for a wide range of customers across a multitude of industries. Their list of services includes aviation, commercial and institutional catering, food production and distribution capabilities, as well as a growing network of central kitchens for food service chains and institutions.

Who Should Apply

We welcome applications from innovative companies (startup or scale-up at any stage of fundraising) that share a passion and commitment for reducing waste and creating a more circular ecosystem. If you are looking for a growth platform to demonstrate your capabilities and expand into Asia and beyond, this challenge is for you!

Why You Should Apply

Winning teams will get to engage in a proof-of-concept or pilot project with SATS to accelerate the development and adoption of their solutions.

Winning teams will receive a grant of up to SGD80,000 each from OCBC Bank to execute the project.

Info Session

Participate in an in-depth discussion of the challenge statements with our experts and explore how you can make a difference with your solution. Learn about the challenge process and get your questions answered.

Timeline

Note that these dates are subject to change.

  • 27 May

    Application Opens

  • 30 June

    Info  Session

  • 25 July

    Application Deadline

  • Week of 8 August

    Shortlisting
    Announcement

  • August - September

    Incubation Phase

  • 5 October

    Pitch Day

Making Your Application

Do you have a solution that fits the bill? Tell us about it! 

Complete our application form* and upload your application deck.

Applications will close on Monday, 25 July at 11.59pm (GMT+8).

* Application will take no more than 10 minutes to complete. You may also save your application as a draft and complete it later. Refer to our pitch deck guidelines for more details. By applying, you agree to our Terms & Conditions.

Evaluation Criteria

Innovativeness

For Challenges 1 & 2

30%

For Challenge 3

40%

Guiding Questions
  • How unique is the approach in solving the problem?
  • How does the proposed solution compare to the next best alternatives?

Effectiveness and
Impact

For Challenges 1 & 2

25%

For Challenge 3

25%

Guiding Questions
  • How effective is the proposed solution in solving the problem?
  • How big is the potential impact or business value generated (e.g. amount of waste eliminated, value of byproducts, etc.)?

Feasibility and
Scalability

For Challenges 1 & 2

25%

For Challenge 3

25%

Guiding Questions
  • Is the proposed solution technically feasible and can be piloted within the next 12 months?
  • Is this solution scalable?

Capability

For Challenges 1 & 2

20%

For Challenge 3

10%

Guiding Questions
  • Does the team/company have the experience (shown through its track record), skills and resources that demonstrate its ability to develop this solution from proposal to pilot and beyond?

Check out our FAQs or send us an email at info@padang.co.

FAQs

We are looking for startups with solutions that can be adapted to address one or more of our challenge statements. You can be located anywhere in the world but must have an interest in developing your solutions with organisations in Southeast Asia after the Challenge.

Complete the application by Monday, 25 July 2022, 11:59pm (GMT+8). Submissions will be evaluated thereafter, and finalists shortlisted. If your company is selected, you will need to nominate a representative to present on Pitch Day.

You may submit an application for one or more challenge statements. Please make sure your solution adequately addresses each challenge statement you choose.

Based on the results of the initial proofs of concept, the top teams would have the opportunity to further negotiate a pilot contract with SATS.