Prudence Foundation Calls on Myanmar’s Innovators to Participate in the Second Edition of the SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards to Find Life-Saving Technologies for Disaster Resilience

Prudential Myanmar is calling for innovators from Myanmar’s business and technology communities to participate in the SAFE STEPS Disaster Tech (D-Tech) Awards1. The Awards find, fund, and support technology solutions that save lives before, during, or after natural disaster events.

Taking place for the second time, the SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards was launched by Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and Africa, and supported by Humanitarian Partner International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Technology Partner Lenovo.

Since 2000, more than 40 percent of global disaster events have taken place in the Asia Pacific region2, resulting in around 800,000 deaths and affecting 3.2 billion people3. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected more than 11 million people4 and is expected to result in over US$2.7 trillion in economic losses in the Asia-Pacific region5, has magnified the importance of disaster preparedness and collaboration across all sectors in reducing the threat and impact of natural disaster events. Photo Source https://www.safesteps.com/d-tech

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 program 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.

Organizations participating in the Awards, including those from Myanmar, 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. Photo Source https://www.safesteps.com/d-tech

The competition is open for entries until 19 February 2021 on the Awards website. Both for-profit and non-profit organisations are welcome to apply. Semi-finals will be on 29 and 30 April 2021. Finalists will pitch their solutions to a panel of judges on 4 June 2021.

Further details of the SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards, including application criteria, timeline, and other relevant information can be found at https://www.safesteps.com/d-tech.