“The work of entrepreneurs is a powerful reflection of EY’s new tagline ‘Shape the future with confidence’. Through the EOY programme, we shine the spotlight on business founders who dare to think differently and whose relentless pursuit of excellence is driving positive change and sustainable growth,” says Liew Nam Soon, Singapore country managing partner and EY Asean regional managing partner at Ernst & Young Solutions LLP.
“Having run this programme for 24 years in Singapore, we continue to see nominations across a broad spectrum of industries, and it is clear that there is an increasingly strong digital and technology theme underpinning enterprises’ business models, product innovation and customer experience. There is also a growing articulation among outstanding entrepreneurs on the importance of purpose and making an impact on the broader slate of stakeholders and society, while pursuing commercial objectives,” he adds.
A candidate seeking to be a part of the EOY programme has to be an owner-manager primarily responsible for the recent performance of a privately held Singapore-based company that is at least two years old. Alternatively, this candidate has to be a founder of a listed Singapore-based company who is still active in senior management.
According to EY, the nominees will be assessed by an independent judging panel across the four globally benchmarked criteria of entrepreneurial spirit, growth, purpose and impact.
See also: Stina Ehrensvärd, co-founder of Sweden’s Yubico, named EY World Entrepreneur Of the Year 2025
Entrepreneurs who excel across the four criteria will be honored as winners of award titles that are designed to reflect their unique qualities or achievements.
The individual who ranks the highest across all four criteria will be selected as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Singapore to represent the country at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year (WEOY) award next year.
Zachary Wang’s last year’s EOY Singapore winner, will represent Singapore at the EY WEOY awards in June. Wang was one of the four category winners in last year’s EY’s Entrepreneur Of The Year, taking home the title in the mobility space.
See also: Vellayan Subbiah of Tube Investments of India named EY World Entrepreneur Of the Year 2024
“This is an incredible honor and an opportunity to spotlight our mission to transform urban mobility more on a global stage,” says Wang. “It would open doors to new partnerships that could help further our goal of contributing to the development of more sustainable, livable cities. Also, it will allow me to connect with other participants and past winners, whose advice and experiences could be invaluable as we continue to grow.”
Bank of Singapore, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation’s (OCBC) wholly-owned private banking subsidiary, is the platinum sponsor of the EOY awards for the second year.
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) continues as a partner of the EOY awards for the sixth year.
“Inspired by the remarkable success stories from last year’s awards, Bank of Singapore is proud to be the platinum sponsor of the EOY awards in Singapore for the second year running,” says Jason Moo, CEO of Bank of Singapore. “Entrepreneurs are the drivers of economic transformation. They take risks and invest in new ventures, turning ideas into opportunities and stimulating economic development in the process. We look forward to honoring their outstanding achievements at this year's awards.”
"The future belongs to those who dare to shape it. Entrepreneurs are the visionaries who push boundaries and seize opportunities,” adds Pol de Win, head of global sales and origination at SGX group. “SGX Group is proud to support our homegrown trailblazers and, as a long-standing partner of the EOY awards, we want to celebrate the leaders who are not just imagining the future but building it with ambition, resilience and a pioneering spirit."
Two other honorary awards for family enterprise excellence and Asean entrepreneurial excellence will also be presented at this year’s EOY awards.
The award recipient for the EY-Bank of Singapore Family Enterprise Award of Excellence will be selected based on the family enterprise’s ability to successfully balance business and family issues, grow the business and show responsibility for others through philanthropic or social engagements.
The winner will be selected by EY’s knowledge partners, Business Families Institute @ Singapore Management University (BFI @ SMU) and the INSEAD Wendel International Centre for Family Enterprise.
The other award, EY-Bank of Singapore Asean Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, recognizes successful Southeast Asian businesses that contribute to the economy and community in the region. The recipients of these two awards do not compete for the EOY Singapore 2025 title.
The Edge Singapore, The Business Times and Portfolio magazine are The official media partners of the EOY awards. The supporters are Action Community for Entrepreneurship; Enterprise Singapore; Singapore Business Federation; and SkillsFuture Singapore.
The public and business community are encouraged to nominate outstanding entrepreneurs for the award at www.ey.com/sg/eoy.
