Prudence Foundation Launches The 3rd SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards

Awards encourage and support the development of technology that can save lives from natural disasters

HONG KONG SAR – Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential Plc today launches the third edition of the SAFE STEPS Disaster Tech (D-Tech) Awards. The Awards aim to find, fund, and support technology solutions that save lives before, during or after natural disaster events.

The increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters as a result of climate change has magnified the importance of disaster preparedness. In 2021, natural disasters affected more than 104 million people and caused US$252 billion in economic losses[i].

The SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards was created by Prudence Foundation in 2019 to highlight the significant role that technology can play in improving disaster preparedness, recovery, and resilience.

Jolene Chen, Chair of Prudence Foundation said, “The Prudence Foundation aims to create a better future for communities by making them safer and more resilient to life’s risks. With SAFE STEPS D-Tech, we want to encourage and support innovation that fulfils this ambition. Importantly, we want to create a platform that brings together startups and nonprofits across the private and public sectors to help reduce the threat and impact of natural disasters.”

This year’s awards are supported by a number of collaborators, which include the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), cloud service provider Amazon Web Services (AWS), and e27, a tech media platform that supports entrepreneurs and startups.
IFRC will provide expertise for the judging panel. AWS will provide shortlisted participants with cloud credits and mentoring support through the AWS Startup Ramp, a programme that helps early-stage public sector-focused technology startups to build innovative solutions on AWS. Finally, e27 will leverage its tech ecosystem to promote the Awards and the winners.

Startups and nonprofits across Asia Pacific participating in the Awards have the opportunity to access grants from more than US$200,000 that includes AWS Cloud credits and cash awards provided by Prudence Foundation.

Semi-finalists will have access to expert coaching and mentoring and finalists will be invited to pitch their solutions to a panel of judges at the upcoming Singapore Echelon Summit 2023 taking place in May.

The Echelon Summit is a leading tech event organised by e27 that brings together tech startups and entrepreneurs, social enterprise developers, humanitarian and government representatives, venture capital fund managers, investors, researchers, and academia.

“Preparing for disasters saves countless lives, speeds up people’s recovery and saves money. The IFRC supports National Societies to continually improve their local preparedness and response capacity, ultimately preventing and reducing the impacts of disasters on communities. The world is facing increasingly frequent and complex humanitarian and development issues. To address them, we need coordinated action from a diverse range of actors, including the private sector,” said Robert Laprade, Head of Strategic Engagement and Partnerships for IFRC Asia Pacific.