Amid a global environmental crisis, Prince William has launched an international prize to encourage entrepreneurs to find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems by 2030. The Earthshot Prize, which was unveiled at an elaborate ceremony in Singapore’s Mediacorp Theatre on Tuesday, has been named after President John F Kennedy’s 1962 “moonshot” speech that challenged Americans to reach the moon by the end of the decade.

The prize is backed by an anonymous donor who wants to remain anonymous, and has a total value of S$3 million (US$2.3 million). In addition to the top prize of S$300,000, the runner-up will receive a S$200,000 prize, while the third-placed winner will get a S$160,000 award. The prize will also fund a five-year programme to support the winners in their work.

This is the first time that the Singapore prize has added new categories, including those for debut writers, translators and comic-book authors. The Singapore literature prize has been running since 2014, after an anonymous donor donated S$500,000 to create an endowment fund to support the prize. The new categories will help to recognise and promote more diverse published works in Singapore’s four official languages, said the organiser, the Singapore Book Council.

It is hoped that the new categories will also encourage more Singaporeans to submit their work for consideration. Previously, the prize only recognised works written in the four official languages. But the 2024 edition will see a further expansion, with a translation category being introduced to allow entries from other languages to be considered. In addition, a prize for shortlisted works by debut writers has been added, as well as a prize for historical works.

The awards, which were presented by Lianhe Zaobao and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme), also included a special merit award for public agencies and not-for-profit organisations. This year, it was won by suicide-prevention agency Samaritans of Singapore. The other three recipients were Singapore Airlines, SGIFF and the National Museum of Singapore. Founded in 2002, the Singapore prize has become one of the most prestigious awards for home-grown businesses. It has honoured more than 500 companies for their branding efforts, and served as inspiration to many local entrepreneurs. The winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges, including Lianhe Zaobao and Asme editors, business experts, and industry leaders. The ceremony was attended by 400 guests. This year’s honourees were deemed to be a good representation of Singapore’s innovation and creativity, and were praised for their strong and clear branding strategies. The winners were also commended for their ability to leverage technology to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive business landscape. They were encouraged to continue their efforts in the years ahead to strengthen their brand, and build upon their strengths in order to grow.