On September 13, 2023, Kajima Development Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kajima Corporation, inaugurated The GEAR Future City Festival with the Singapore Management University (SMU) as part of the biennial Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC). Organised by the SMU’s Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Kajima is a platinum partner of the LKYGBPC.

The event was inaugurated by Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board, with her keynote speech on Unlocking Value from Corporate Ventures through Collaborative Partnerships with Institute of Higher Learning and Startups.

As part of Kajima’s commitment to empower the next generation of innovators, the event also saw the launch of The GEAR Residency Programme, their first corporate accelerator programme aimed at nurturing startups and entrepreneurs dedicated to developing innovative solutions in the built environment. Powered by Rainmaking, the eight selected companies will be provided with access to experiment with building facilities, mentorship, and a global network. Through the Startup Residency Programme, Kajima seeks to stay ahead of the curve in today’s rapidly changing business landscape and instill a culture of agility and creative thinking within the corporation.

The GEAR’s Future City Festival also played host to the Changemaker Conversations as part of BLAZE – a week-long event bringing inter-generational networking, panel discussions, site visits, and mentorship sessions that form an environment which fosters learning, collaboration, and growth at SMU from September 11-15, 2023.

In the panel discussion “Constructing Climate-Resilient Cities of Tomorrow”, panel speakers Keisuke Koshijima, Executive Vice President of Kajima Corporation, Paul Santos, Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners, Kyle Tan, Founder of Airsquire, and Winston Chow, Associate Professor of Urban Climate of Singapore Management University, discussed how technology, finance and sustainability converge to build the climate-resilient cities of tomorrow. The panelists seeked to outline a roadmap that architects the blueprint for climate-resilient cities and empowers leaders of tomorrow to engage actively in sustainable innovation.

The event closed with a pitch segment for the selected finalists of the LKYGBPC. Four RVLT50 (Revolutionary 50) startups vied for the LKYGBPC Kajima Innovation Award, a total cash prize of $100,000 that is up for grabs to fuel the winning startups' journey towards creating a meaningful societal impact. The unveiling of the ultimate winner of the prize will be announced during the competition’s Closing Mixer event on September 14, 2023 at CHIJMES.