Celebrating ASEAN’s Top Innovators and Tech Pioneers – Nominate Your Favorites Today!

• New Entrepreneurs Foundation (myNEF) announced the kick off for the third annual ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards (ARBSA) 2017
• The Awards rewards excellence, best practice and innovation in startups across the region, as fifteen award categories are up for nominations, where winners will represent Southeast Asia at the Global Startup Awards finale in 2018
• The objective behind the Rice Bowl is to map, connect and promote regional startup ecosystems, and to aid policymakers on the entrepreneurship agenda on digital tech innovation
• The ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards is the official Southeast Asia circuit for the Global Startup Awards, which is celebrated across four regions

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 May, 2017 – New Entrepreneurs Foundation (myNEF) today announced the kick off for the third annual ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards (ARBSA) 2017, which celebrates the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in the startup ecosystem across South East Asia.

The Awards rewards excellence, best practice and innovation in startups across the region. This year, fifteen award categories are up for nominations.

“We are excited to continue this yearly tradition for the ASEAN startup community,” said Lilyana Latiff, CEO of New Entrepreneurs Foundation and Chairman of the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards. “This is the 3^rd year of the Rice Bowl’s installation. Last year we had more than 1,500 nominations from 8 ASEAN countries, and we are expecting an even bigger pool of nominations this year.”

The objective behind the Rice Bowl is to map, connect and promote regional startup ecosystems, and to aid policymakers on the entrepreneurship agenda on digital tech innovation.

It also seeks to increase the region’s visibility as a vibrant global hub for innovation and celebrate the startup ecosystem through partnership with the Global Startup Awards.

The ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards is the official Southeast Asia circuit for the Global Startup Awards, which is celebrated across four regions. The Winners will represent Southeast Asia at the Global Startup Awards finale in 2018.

This year, the Rice Bowl is introducing new categories that are trending to reflect the emerging verticals in the tech startup ecosystem. The 15 categories are:

STARTUP CATEGORY

1. Startup of the Year
2. Best Newcomer
3. Best Social Impact Startup
4. Best Smart City Solution
5. Best e-Commerce / Supply Chain Startup
6. Best Health / Lifestyle Tech Startup
7. Best Green Biotech / Food Tech Startup
8. Best Life Sciences / MedTech Startup
9. Best Fintech Startup
10. Best DeepTech / AI / Big Data Startup

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY

11. Founder of The Year

ECOSYSTEM OF THE YEAR

12. Investor of the Year
13. Best Accelerator Program
14. Best Co-Working Space

OTHERS

15. People’s Choice

And a Special Mention for the Best Startup Ecosystem Initiative (for each country)

Nominations are open to startups that has been established no more than 5 years in any ASEAN country. A startup can either be nominated or they can submit the entries themselves.

After the Nomination period ends in June, the evaluation is carried out in two rounds – the Nationals and Regionals. The first round is the National Finals. All entries compete for the Rice Bowl Startup Award (as voted by a Jury Panel) and the People’s Choice Award (as voted online by fans). The winners of each country will be announced between August to September 2017.

The national winners will then move on to the Regional Finals, which is the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards. The Regional Winners will be announced during the Grand Finale ceremony in November. The winners will then represent this region at the Global Startup Awards.

Startups are encouraged to participate in the Asean Rice Bowl Startup Awards as they are not only able to tout their achievement all year long, but they also have an opportunity to receive government endorsements, investment funding, media exposure, as well as to establish and strengthen their regional and global networks.

This is a concerted effort for Southeast Asian countries to showcase this region as a vibrant global hub for innovation, and to aid policy makers on the entrepreneurship agenda on digital tech innovation.

The Rice Bowl Startup Awards Nomination period is between 8 May till 30 June 2017. For more information and to submit entries, visit www.ricebowlawards.com or www. aseanstartupawards.com