Prudence Foundation Launches Second Edition of SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards to Find Life-Saving Technologies for Disaster Resilience

Winners will have access to financial support, coaching and networking opportunities to help scale their innovative technology solutions

HONG KONG SAR – Media
OutReach – 8 December 2020 – Prudence Foundation, the
community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and Africa, together with Humanitarian
Partner International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
and Technology Partner Lenovo, today launches the second edition of the SAFE
STEPS Disaster Tech (D-Tech) Awards[1]. The Awards find, fund and
support technology solutions that save lives before, during or after natural
disaster events.

Since 2000, more than 40 per cent of global disaster events have taken
place in the Asia Pacific region[2],
resulting in around 800,000 deaths and affecting 3.2 billion people[3]. This year,
the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected more than 11 million people[4] and
expected to result in over US$2.7 trillion in economic losses[5], has
magnified the importance of disaster preparedness and collaboration across all
sectors in reducing the threat and impact of natural disaster events.

The SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards was created
by Prudence Foundation out of the belief that technology innovation can play a more
significant role in improving disaster preparedness, recovery and resilience. The
Awards are part of SAFE STEPS, a multi-platform, mass
awareness programme developed by Prudence Foundation and supported by the IFRC
and other partners to provide life-saving information around natural disaster
events, road safety and first aid.

Organisations participating in
the Awards will stand a chance to win grants from a pool of US$200,000 to
support the implementation and scaling of their D-Tech solutions. Semi-finalists
and finalists will have access to expert coaching, pitching and networking
opportunities with humanitarian representatives, venture capital fund managers,
fellow tech entrepreneurs and social enterprise developers. Finalists will pitch
their solutions to a panel of judges in June 2021.

Donald Kanak, Chairman of
Prudence Foundation, said, “The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has raised the awareness
of the critical need for disaster preparedness and the power of technology in
resilience, response and recovery. We established the SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards
to encourage entrepreneurs across the world to direct their energy and
ingenuity in applying their technology to reduce the devastating impact of disasters.
We believe D-Tech has huge potential to be a disruptive game changer for good
and be just as impactful as technology has been in other areas, such as edtech,
fintech and medtech.”

Alexander
Matheou, IFRC’s Regional Director for Asia Pacific, said, “2020 has shown us that resilience
against disasters has never been more important. IFRC is pleased to work with Prudence
Foundation again on the SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards to bring businesses and
communities together to support tech solutions that will help save lives.”

Pratima
Harite, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy for Lenovo Asia Pacific, said,
“Technology can play a fundamental role in improving resilience in communities
impacted by natural and other disasters. Lenovo aims to combine the power of
world-class technology solutions with the creativity and know-how of local
entrepreneurs and charitable organisations, to achieve better preparedness,
recovery, and resilience.”

The Awards are supported by a
wide range of strategic partners, including the Asian Venture Philanthropy
Network (AVPN), Antler, e27, Give2Asia, Hatcher+, Jubilee Capital Management and
National Geographic.

The competition is open for entries from today to 19 February 2021. Both for-profit and non-profit
organisations are welcome to apply. Details of the application criteria,
timeline and other relevant information can be found here.

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO AVAILABLE HERE

Introduction
to SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards: Link

Call for applications: Link