Bangkok Business Challenge

Our Story

Bangkok Business Challenge, The Biggest Startup Competition for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students, was created in 2002 to encourage students in post-graduate programs across the globe to become more entrepreneurial. Teams will not only be competing for the most prestigious prize of all, Thailand's H.M. The King's Award, kindly bestowed by His Majesty, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, but also have the opportunity to acquire over $56,000 in cash prizes. The judging committee, including leading entrepreneurs, professionals, and investors, will be looking for the most attractive start-up ventures based on submitted written business plans, live pitches, and venture exhibits.

After holding four annual regional events since 2002, the Bangkok Business Challenge was renamed "The mai Bangkok Business Challenge @ Sasin". Starting in 2007, the competition was co-hosted by the Market for Alternative Investment (mai), Thailand's stock exchange for medium-sized public companies, and the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University, setting a new precedent in the standard of regional business plan competitions. And since 2008, the competition has welcomed participation from all nations across the globe. In 2013, the University of Texas at Austin, the organizer of the original post-graduate intercollegiate business plan competition, Moot Corp (now called Venture Labs Investment Competition), requested our competition to become a partner by offering our winner an automatic berth to compete for the World Championship at the Global Venture Labs Investment Competition at the University of Texas at Austin.

In 2015, in partnership with the Houston Technology Center Asia, we introduced the Innovation Award to recognize ventures that make best use of their disruptive innovation to propel their commercialization efforts.

Realizing very well that every business, regardless of industry and venture type, undoubtedly affects the future of our planet and the generations to follow in some way, starting in 2011, the competition has sought to bring sustainability concerns to the mainstream. Since 2011, all business plans submitted are evaluated in terms of not only their economic soundness but also their ability to address relevant social and environmental concerns. In 2015, the competition therefore introduced H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Sustainability Award to further highlight our conviction that social and environmental responsibility must be practiced by all businesses, whether they are social, not-for-profit, or commercial ventures. Since 2016, Siam Cement Group (SCG) leads the panel of experts judging teams on sustainability and provides the prize money that accompanies this prestigious award. In 2017, we gratefully welcomed Mitr Phol Group as a new main sponsor and introduced the Thailand Track Round to give additional opportunities for local start-ups to be represented at the competition.

Furthermore, we rebranded our competition in mid-2017 by co-hosting the competition with Siam Cement Group (SCG) and renaming it to “The SCG Bangkok Business Challenge @ Sasin”. SCG is a leading business conglomerate in the ASEAN region with the commitment of conducting business in line with good corporate governance and sustainable development principles since its establishment in 1913 following a royal decree of His Majesty King Rama VI. Its longstanding tradition of learning, adjustment and development in all areas has enabled SCG to survive the wave of crises and challenges and earn widespread recognition as a role model for other businesses, both locally and internationally.