Media Resouces
Mapletree-SCCCI RHBHacks 2023 expands impact and reimagines green living
22 Dec 2022
  • More winning teams will showcase novel proposals at RHB 2023 with increased support from Mapletree

​SINGAPORE - Dehydrated pet snacks from restaurant trimmings and “ugly” vegetables; 3D printed plant holders that are designed for herbs; recycled clothes into that one-of-a-kind bag. These are among the winning ideas from the Mapletree-SCCCI River Hongbao Hackathon 2023 (“RHBHacks 2023”).

Reimagining Green Living through immediate and practical daily measures. That’s the  theme of RHBHacks 2023, which  aims to inject a pragmatic dimension into an environmentally responsible lifestyle through novel and practical ideas or products for consumers.  

Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman of Mapletree said, “By supporting young entrepreneurs through RHBHacks as part of the Group’s corporate social responsibility commitment, Mapletree hopes that budding student entrepreneurs will be encouraged to push the boundaries of sustainable businesses and bring more innovative, eco-friendly ideas to market.”

The annual event is open to students and youth entrepreneurs to reinterpret everyday objects or products that will make our lives greener. During the Hackathon, the proposals are evaluated and judged by a panel of industry experts on the criteria of feasibility, strategy, innovation and the Singapore identity. 

This year, 10 shortlisted teams of between 2 to 5 members were drawn from a field of 89 students from the Institutes of Technical Education, Polytechnics as well as universities. The shortlisted teams pitched their business proposals to a panel of judges at the Hackathon event held on 21 December 2022 at Mapletree Business City. Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry graced the event as guest-of-honour.

More students will have a chance to set up shop at the anticipated River Hongbao (“RHB”) 2023, with expanded support from Mapletree. Four teams, up from three teams in previous years, will each receive S$2,000 prize money and S$5,000 seed money to develop and sell their product or service at RHB 2023, which will be organised from 20 January to 28 January 2023 at Gardens by the Bay.

The four teams selected as the winners of RHBHacks 2023 were: 3R, Deko, Kapaw&co and RE5IVE. The Most Innovative Award was presented to TableTop3 while the Best Pitch Award was won by RE5IVE. Further details on the winning teams can be found under Additional Notes. 

RHBHacks is an entrepreneurship competition designed for students and youth entrepreneurs. Inaugurated in 2019, it provides youths with the opportunity to raise business ideas for the annual River Hongbao event.

RHBHacks 2023 is sponsored by Mapletree Investments (“Mapletree” or “the Group”) and supported by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (“SCCCI”) for the fifth consecutive year.

“Many people tend to think of green living in mega terms like infrastructure and technology, but for many of us, green living is something we can do daily. And that’s the objective of RHBHacks – practical ideas and products that we can adopt immediately,” said Mr Roland Ng, President of SCCCI. 

Mr Thomas Chua, Chairman of the RHB  2023 Organising Committee, added, “This is the fifth year of RHBHacks and every year, the participating youths continue to inspire us with their ideas, drive and passion. To bring that forward, we want to give the teams the opportunity to market their ideas and products to the public at a popular event like River Hongbao where the ideas are tested commercially.”

Photos

Credits: River Hongbao 2023 Organising Committee 
For High Resolution Photos click here.


​Team RE5IVE receiving the Best Pitch Award from Ms Kia Jiehui, Head of Sustainability Committee, SPETA, who was one of the judges

   
Team TableTop3 receiving the Most Innovative Award from one of the judges, Mr Daryl Neo, Co-Founder and CEO, Handshakes

 
Team 3R receiving one of the Top 4 Finalists Award from Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry

 
Team Deko receiving one of the Top 4 Finalists Award from Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry 

 
Team Kapaw&co receiving one of the Top 4 Finalists Award from Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry 

 
Team RE5IVE receiving one of the Top 4 Finalists Award from Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry 

 
Team WMG from ITE College West receiving certificates of participation from Mr Wan Kwong Weng, Group Chief Corporate Officer, Mapletree


Team BG from Nanyang Technological University receiving certificates of participation from Mr Wan Kwong Weng, Group Chief Corporate Officer, Mapletree


Group photo of shortlisted RHBHacks 2023 teams, judges and guests at Mapletree Business City 

List of Winners

Awards

Team Name

School

Team Members

Product/Service

Top Four Finalists (in alphabetical order)

3R

Temasek Polytechnic

Beh Shi Wei,Tan Jun Yong, Laurent Miguel Lim Jia Ang

Painting kits to make customisable ceramic cups which come with a glazing and firing service for each cup so that it will be food-safe. Aims to reduce one-time use of cups.

Deko

Yale-NUS College

Richard Jo, Huang Huanyan

Deko Plant Kit is a kit that turns any container into a self-watering hydroponic plant pot. Aims to reduce non-biodegradable plastic waste.

Kapaw&Co

Singapore Polytechnic

Irfan Cantero, Bin Abdul Halim,
Megan Lee Si Ling,
Tan Tian Yi,
Michael Chang

 

Dehydrated pet treats made from ugly fruits, soon to be expired products and meat trimmings. Aims to reduce food waste.

RE5IVE

Temasek Polytechnic

Tara Elizabeth Green,
Sng Ming En Jannzel, 
Nataira Shiefirah Binte Shiefulbahari, Mohamed Irfan Bin Mohamed, Moneda Venetia Eirielle Macalintal

One-of-a-kind A5-sized sling bags which are made from recycled clothes. Aims to reduce clothes waste.

Most Innovative Award

TableTop3

Singapore Institute of Technology & Singapore Management University

Sim Jia Yew,Wee Jia Min, Harron Tan, Bevan

Mo-Bii is an all-in-one Smart Home Security System similar to Ring or Nest Hello but it operates using old smartphones without needing any additional accessories. Aims to reduce e-waste from discarded smartphones.

Best Pitch Award

RE5IVE

Temasek Polytechnic

Tara Elizabeth Green,
Sng Ming En Jannzel, 
Nataira Shiefirah Binte Shiefulbahari, Mohamed Irfan Bin Mohamed, Moneda Venetia Eirielle Macalintal

One-of-a-kind A5-sized sling bags which are made from recycled clothes. Aims to reduce clothes waste.

 

MEDIA CONTACTS

Annie Chua
Danny Lee
Corporate Social Responsibility River Hongbao 2023 Organising Committee (Secretariat)
Mapletree Investments Tel: +65 9061 6413
Tel: +65 65 6807 4457/9721 3300 Email: media@sfcca.sg
Email: annie.chua@mapletree.com.sg
Grace Lee Mr Edgar Tan
Corporate Communications Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Mapletree Investments Tel: +65 6430 8346 / 9747 7005
Tel: +65 6377 6218 / 9750 6482 Email: edgar@scci.org.sg 
Email: grace.lee@mapletree.com.sg

ABOUT RIVER HONGBAO

As a part of Singapore’s Chinese New Year festivities since 1987, River Hongbao is organised by the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese Media Group, Singapore Tourism Board and People's Association.

For more information, please visit: www.riverhongbao.sg and https://www.facebook.com/riverhongbaosg/

ABOUT MAPLETREE

Headquartered in Singapore, Mapletree is a global real estate development, investment, capital and property management company committed to sustainability. Its strategic focus is to invest in markets and real estate sectors with good growth potential. By combining its key strengths, the Group has established a track record of award-winning projects, and delivers consistent and high returns across real estate asset classes.

The Group manages three Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and six private equity real estate funds, which hold a diverse portfolio of assets in Asia Pacific, Europe, the United Kingdom (“UK”) and the United States (“US”). As at 31 March 2022, Mapletree has assets under management of S$78.7 billion, comprising office, retail, logistics, industrial, data centre, residential and student accommodation properties.

The Group’s assets are located across 13 markets globally, namely Singapore, Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, the UK, the US and Vietnam. To support its global operations, Mapletree has established an extensive network of offices in these countries.

For more information, please visit www.mapletree.com.sg

ABOUT SINGAPORE CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

Established in 1906, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) is an internationally renowned business organisation and the apex body of the Chinese business community in Singapore. It is the founder of the biennial World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention, a global business convention. It plays a key and pro-active role in representing the interests of the local business community.

The SCCCI has a membership network comprising 5,000 corporate members and has more than 160 trade association members, representing over 40,000 companies including large financial and business organisations, multinational corporations, government-linked companies, and small and medium enterprises from a wide spectrum of trades and industries. These members together provide vast resources and opportunities which enable the SCCCI to develop an influential global Chinese business network for business, education, culture and community development. In return, they share a strong sense of pride and identity together and benefit immensely from the SCCCI’s membership services, facilities and activities.

For more information, please visit www.sccci.org.sg