The Final 9

Business Category

Mohan Belani, 29

Director, e27

Passion and innovation are what define Mohan Belani, Co-Founder and Director at e27. Inspired from his year long stint in Silicon Valley in 2006, Mohan and his peers founded e27, a media organization focused on the Asian technology startup scene.

e27 reported on innovative technology startups in Singapore and the region, when nobody else was doing it. Firmly believing in Singapore's role in driving web and mobile innovation across Asia, Mohan and e27 organise Echelon, e27's flagship event and Asia's leading technology startup conference.

Presently, Echelon attracts the brightest entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley and the region to speak at the conference, and they inspire more than 3,000 attendees across 6 satellite events from over 20 countries.

Today, Mohan aims to take the e27 company to the next level by building even more bridges between technology startups in Singapore, the region and to Silicon Valley, driving innovation all the way.

Read about him here

Business Category

Grace Wong, 31

Creative Director, Awesome Costumes

After two years of pioneering a UK fashion label under the employment of METRO Singapore, Grace decided to take a big leap of faith. With only $500 in her savings, she left the company and founded Awesome Costumes, where she designs and produces creative costumes. The initial stages were tough, but Grace persevered. Slowly but surely, she gained more opportunities to showcase her work.

Grace’s fun, imaginative and bold personality propelled her to create many outstanding costumes. She designed and produced dancers’ costumes for international celebrities’ concerts in 2004 and 2007, as well as costumes for local theatre productions. She was involved in Chingay 2008 and 2012, President’s Star Charity in 2011 and the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

Grace also believes in giving back to society. She was one of the sponsors for the Cosmo Youth Parade held in June, as part of the SHINE Youth Festival. She is currently working on sponsoring costumes for Singapore Management University’s School of Law musical in aid of the needy.

Grace wants to put Singapore on the world map with her craft. With Singapore as the Hub for the arts and entertainment, she believes she is able to make Singapore an even more creative, fun and exciting place to be in. She is currently working towards becoming a costume designer for Cirque Du Soleil and other musicals in the UK and USA.

Read about her here

Business Category

Michelle Tham, 33

Speech pathologist/co-founder, Leapfrogs

Michelle is an excellent example of how childhood dreams can come true if you set your mind to achieving them.

This self-proclaimed perfectionist started out on her own at aged 22, and learned to run a business through trial and error. She works hard at being a good entrepreneur and boss. She often says "It's the people that make it happen, it's always about the people, so love them, and, love them well.”

Her company and team at Leapfrogs is one of the leading private therapy centers in Singapore for children with special needs and a strong sense of purpose, love, commitment, and creativity.

Michelle was featured as one of Her World's Top 50 inspiring women, has done numerous interviews to advocate for children with differences. She recently authored a chapter on having the courage to be yourself and run a company with your beliefs in Nanz Chong-Komo's latest book "Bringing out the Entrepreneur in you."

She is an award recipient for contribution to international volunteerism in Cambodia with Singapore International Foundation and is an external mentor for Hwa Chong Institution's social enterprise program and community service projects.

She currently has plans to expand her company to Indonesia and her contributions are significant and extremely valuable in our society. She not only dares to dream about making a difference, she lives it.

Read about her here

Social Enterprise Category

Pamela Yeo, 24

Co-founder, Saught

Pamela Yeo is one of the co-founders of Saught, alongside Adeline Heng and Ng Sook Zhen, a social business which creates products from the scrap metal of war remnants to support sustainable development in post-conflict countries.

Despite having completed her legal education at NUS Law -- she will be called to the bar in July 2012 -- Pamela has chosen to leave legal practice to pursue Saught full-time.

Saught was first conceived in December 2010, and thereafter, its online store was launched in February 2012. Its pilot project was launched in Cambodia, where safely deactivated scrap metal supplied by national and international demining organisations, is reworked into jewellery made by Cambodian NGO workshops, supporting income generation projects.

In line with its vision and belief that co-creation is the solution to end poverty, Saught aims to work with local and international designers and design schools to create socially conscious and impactful products.

For its inaugural collection, the talented young designers from the School of Design at Temasek Polytechnic created collections of jewellery which retold the powerful story of transformation of war to peace.

Read about her here

Social Enterprise Category

Emily Teng, 25

Radio DJ

By day, Emily Teng often works up a sweat at the gym and by running around the city for her non-profit project, 'Blessings in a Bag' (BIAB) and social enterprise, 'OKRA'. By night, she's the voice of 'The Hot Date' on Power98 FM.

Raised in Jakarta, Melbourne and Singapore, Emily was inspired from a young age to serve the needs of the community around her and since 2007, she's been juggling a full-time job and a full-time passion.

OKRA began humbly in 2009 with the realization that in order to help the children there had to be something that provided a support system for the caretakers, too. So an idea was hatched to empower women and enable them to supplement their family income, usually earned by the husbands.

Most of the women are mothers who wish to provide food on the table and send their children to school but there are also women who were sold to the human trafficking trade and have since left that chapter of their life. Products are hand-made by the women and tap onto their local skills and the community’s resources.

A big believer in the saying, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”, Emily is known for encouraging everyone to believe in owning their potential and becoming ‘World Change Agents’.

With products currently selling at local retailers, there are plans to set up an online store by end 2012.

Read about her here

Social Enterprise Category

Zhang Tingjun, 29

Co-founder/Director, The Chain Reaction Project

“Find a cause. Have an effect.”

This powerful mission drives Zhang Tingjun every day and she’ll convince you to feel the same. A bolt of contagious energy, Ting is a former journalist/producer with Channel NewsAsia and an ex-national netball player for Singapore. Now a social entrepreneur, freelance emcee and motivational speaker,Ting is passionate about being a catalyst for change and pursuing creative approaches to philanthropy.

In 2009 Ting co-founded The Chain Reaction Project which uses adventure trips to bring awareness and resources to needy causes in some of the world’s least developed areas. TCRP invites anyone to join its events participants have hailed from Singapore to as far away as Kenya and the U.S. united by adventure and philanthropy.

Their latest project raised over S$100 000 to fight human trafficking and to date TCRP has raised over S$200 000 plus significant media coverage for their adopted charities. The next stop is Cambodia this December. TCRP also runs programs to encourage engagement between the corporate sector/schools and charities.

Ting embodies the best of Singapore’s potential to motivate others at home and overseas. From TCRP and beyond, Ting launches limitless chain reactions of positive impact.

Read about her here

Entertainment Category

Riduan Zalani, 26

Percussionist

As one of Singapore’s most prominent artists, Riduan Zalani constantly adapts, through his musical practices and involvement, to contribute towards the development of society and the enhancement of the local and international arts scenes.

Riduan has conquered testing circumstances and built his reputation to become one of the most brilliant young Singapore percussionists who excels in talent and triumphs with effort.

The La Salle graduate started his involvement in traditional Malay art forms at 7 and developed a strong drive to pick up various drums from all over the world. Highlights in his career include performing at WOMAD Sri Lanka Festival of Drums and collaborating with internationally acclaimed jazz pianists Jeremy Monteiro and Michael Veerapan for Jazz@The Arts House (2008).

This inspiring young artist has also been awarded the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award (2006) and named as one of Singapore’s top 25 youths under 25 by local newspaper The Straits Times (2005). He also has had the opportunity to work with some of the finest local music directors, as well as being recording sessionist for some of the biggest events in Singapore, such as the International Olympic Conference and Chingay Parade of Dreams.

Skilled in a variety of drums from various cultures, from traditional to contemporary, he embraces challenges with the courage to follow his talent to where it leads.

Read about him here

Entertainment Category

Ray Pang, 27

Writer/Director

A Singapore purebred, Ray Pang’s passion for filmmaking since 18. He has produced eight films to date, garnering five official international film festival selections with two “Best Film” accolades.

Grateful for receiving “The Shooting Gallery Prize” in his course of study, Ray obtained grants while serving national service to spearhead an incubator program with his alma mater, Temasek Polytechnic; paving the way for aspiring filmmaking students. Under his tutelage, they were given a chance to produce a short film, “ONE”. The short film was later invited to screen in London at the "PLUSSIXFIVE" festival.

"BREAK", his thesis film received a Gold Remi Award at the 44th WorldFest-Houston Film Festival, the prestigious Orson Welles Award at California Film Awards and also the Award of Excellence from Los Angeles Movie Awards.

Last year, his local film "THE TEAM" won various accolades and was screened in Japan’s Short Shorts Film Festival Asia 2012.

Ray is one of 14 artists chosen to represent Singapore in the first World Event Young Artists this year. For his due effort in filmmaking, he was given the "Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World" 2012 Merit Award from JCI TOYP.

His most recent film, "Closer To Me" has been shortlisted for Louis Vuitton’s Journey Awards contest. The only Singaporean nominated, Ray will compete alongside international entries to put Singapore Art on the world map.

Read about him here

Entertainment Category

Le Messie, 31

Creative director/Artist/Musician

This born and bred Singaporean of Eurasian decent dropped out of school at the early age of 13 with a below average PSLE education, leading a life with youth street gangs and returning home to a struggling family in money woes. Through a testament of his pure will, determination and dedication, he turned it all around to become an international self made and self taught success.

From creative brand entrepreneur, screen printing artist, to celebrity confidante and music producer, Le Messie has made his mark globally through his own style of multi-disciplinary art forms.

Le Messie has written and produced on Lupe Fiasco’s critically acclaimed 3 time Grammy Nominated RIAA Gold album 'The Cool' in 2008 released by Atlantic Records. At present sharing a higher profile relationship with the rapper, Le Messie is a founding member in Lupe Fiasco’s post punk band "Japanese Cartoon" having already released their 1st album in 2010 with their 2nd presently in the works. Le Messie continues to work with the Grammy Artist on a number of other creative projects.

Through his vigilante work ethic Le Messie has put Singapore on the map many times with his works from art to fashion & music being featured in a large number of magazines, press articles, music videos internationally, from MTV, GQ, Vogue to Complex and countless others.

Read about him here