2019 Competition
Frequently Asked Questions

Natural disasters strike fear in hearts and cause widespread damage that often takes years to recover from. Asia Pacific remains by far the region most exposed to natural disasters worldwide – a person living in the region is five times more likely to be affected by natural disasters than a person living outside the region. This has resulted in over 500,000 lives lost and 1.4 billion people affected since 2005, causing USD900 billion in economic losses.

While many governments and businesses across the region are still recovering from recent natural disasters, they are also pressed to allocate resources towards supporting rapid economic growth, urbanization and other social challenges. On a longer-term horizon, the region is also looking to address environmental issues from energy access and infrastructure, to climate risk mitigation and natural resources management.

Against this backdrop, the Disaster Tech Innovation Programme (the Programme) has been developed by Prudence Foundation in partnership with AVPN.

The programme is also in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goals 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and 13 (Climate Action).

While the issues are extensive and complex, there exists opportunities for funders and resource providers to support and build the capacity of Social Purpose Organisations (SPOs) – for-profit social enterprises or not-for-profit organisations - that aim to address the threat of Natural Disasters using “Disaster Tech”. This is defined as technology which aims to protect and save lives before, during or after natural disasters.

The Programme will be centered around a competition culminating with a showcase at AVPN Conference 2019 to engage with funders and resource providers, and its main objective is to increase the use of Disaster Tech to complement and enhance existing disaster risk reduction efforts in the region to ultimately reduce human and economic losses. 

It will aim to achieve this by:
i) Raising the awareness and profile of innovative and viable Disaster Tech solutions;
ii) Provide financial and non-financial support to these organisations; and
iii) Bring together collaborators and new funders to support the scalability of this sector.

The Competition will enable SPOs involved with Disaster Tech to apply for a chance to participate in a one-day pitching event on Monday 24 June 2019 in Singapore where they stand a chance to win grants from a pool of USD 150,000. The breakdown of the award is as follows:
Winner: USD 100,000
First runners-up: USD 30,000
Second runners-up: USD 20,000

Furthermore, all finalists from the pitching event will also be invited to participate at the AVPN Conference held in the same week in Singapore from 26 to 28 June 2019. This conference is the largest of its kind in Asia and your organisation will be able to showcase your work and engage with social investors through the Deal Share Live segment. 

Organisations that are not shortlisted will stand a chance to be listed on AVPN’s Deal Share Platform for follow-on support from its member network.

To participate, please complete this application form by 29 March 2019.

Following the review of the application forms, shortlisted applicants will then go through a video conference interview process to determine the finalists. These applicants will be informed on 3 May 2019. The video conference interviews will take place on 17 May 2019.

Once this stage has completed, the finalists will be informed by 24 May 2019 and invited to participate in the Pitching Day, which will take place in Singapore on 24 June 2019. 

Finalists will also be invited to participate at the Deal Share Live session at the AVPN Conference in Singapore from 26-28 June 2019 (exact date to be confirmed). This will provide an opportunity to engage further with funders and resource providers.

We seek your understanding that while we try to notify all applicants, we may not be able to get back to all who have applied.

The Competition is free to enter.

Return flights and accommodation of the finalists invited to the Pitching Day event in Singapore will be covered. This will be limited to one person per organisation. For any additional members, applicants will need to cover these travel related costs themselves.

Furthermore, finalists will receive one ticket per organisation to attend the AVPN Conference. Tickets are not transferable.

Early submissions are highly encouraged because we can still assist you if you have any questions and it gives you more time to work on your application before the final cut-off date. Incomplete submissions would not be considered. We encourage you to take a look at the list of questions before you proceed to fill up the form. 

There will be two main rounds of evaluation: 1) application and shortlisting round of finalists and; 2) Pitching Day. An external panel of judges comprising experienced social investors, business leaders, entrepreneurs and domain experts will review the applications. 

The application form, presentation deck and shortlisting of finalists will be assessed on the following key criteria:

i. Social impact

• The relevance of the Disaster Tech solution to the intended community;
• The benefit that the community would receive and potential long-term impact to the issue

ii. Use of Technology

• Technology can significantly increase the impact made;
• Technology is scalable with relative ease;
• Not limited to just tech organisations - includes organisations using technology to scale the impact of their efforts in disasters

iii. Feasibility and sustainability of the business / operating model

• Commercial and financial viability of the business idea / operating model;
• Results of pilot testing, if applicable;
• For not for-profits, operating model will be assessed on how relevant the product/service will be for the intended communities and robustness of plans for ensuring sustainability

iv. Team's capability and commitment

• A strong founding team, preferably with senior members with different expertise leading the operations of the organisation
• Team members have successful track-record in implementation

v. Innovativeness

• Creative and enterprising ideas, as well as unique aspects of the business/operating model

Please note that Prudence Foundation and AVPN will not be taking any ownership of or responsibility for your IP. 

Furthermore, by entering the competition, you acknowledge that your organisation's name, logo, and products / services could be showcased publicly on AVPN’s, Prudence Foundation's websites and/or at the 2019 AVPN Conference in Singapore.