<p>The Mapletree Budding Entrepreneurs Challenge (MBEC) is a youth entrepreneurship programme run by Mapletree Investments under its Education CSR pillar. Participating teams pitch product or service ideas aligned to selected social themes, with finalists receiving seed funding and a rent-free pop-up stall at VivoCity to commercialise their concepts.</p><ul><li>Multi-day hackathon format with mentoring sessions, workshops, and fireside chats with start-up leaders, industry experts, and youth entrepreneurs</li><li>Inaugural 2026 edition shortlisted 12 teams from 35 submissions; the Grand Finals were held on 13 March 2026</li><li>Top four teams each received S$10,000 (split as seed funding and prize money) plus a pop-up stall at VivoCity from 13 to 19 August 2026</li><li>Special Best Pitch and Most Innovative awards of S$800 each; an additional S$500 for the pop-up team with the highest profits</li><li>70% of pop-up net profits are donated to a registered charity aligned with Mapletree's CSR pillars</li></ul><p>Details of future editions are announced on the Mapletree newsroom and CSR programmes pages.</p>