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The Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at the National University of Singapore (Bezos Centre @NUS) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) announced a new partnership to accelerate early-stage sustainable protein innovation through a startup competition. This is part of Bezos Centre @NUS’ US$3 million in grants over five years to support early and growth-stage startups in this space.

The inaugural Sustainable Protein Startup Competition will identify and support early-stage startups in sustainable protein solutions. Three winning startups will be selected through a competitive pitching process. Each winner will receive funding and in-kind support of up to S$175,000 while gaining access to Singapore's comprehensive ecosystem of resources. The competition will be launched on 1 August 2025 at the first International Summit on Sustainable Protein (ISSP; more details on ISSP in Annex). There are plans to hold the competition annually, supporting up to 15 early-stage global and local startups over a five-year period.

Professor Zhou Weibiao, Acting Director of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at NUS and Head of the NUS Department of Food Science and Technology, said, “One of our goals at the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at NUS is to bridge world-class research in sustainable protein with real-world impact. This startup competition and the ISSP are natural extensions of that mission — paving the way for promising technologies to move from lab to market, and from local to global impact. Our partnership with EnterpriseSG will further support our aspiration by accelerating innovation and strengthening the sustainable protein ecosystem in Singapore and beyond.”

Ms Jeannie Lim, Assistant Managing Director for Services and Growth Enterprises at EnterpriseSG, said, “Our partnership with the Bezos Centre @NUS comes at a crucial time to support promising foodtech startups in securing funding to develop their technologies and bring innovative solutions to market. This initiative reflects our commitment to advance promising sustainable food innovations while catalysing greater private sector participation and investments in Singapore's foodtech sector. We welcome foodtech startups to leverage Singapore’s resources, robust innovation ecosystem and progressive regulatory framework to accelerate their R&D efforts and scale their impact across the region.”

Bezos Centre @NUS x EnterpriseSG’s Sustainable Protein Startup Competition
The competition aims to support early-stage startups developing novel sustainable protein technologies that can address critical challenges in food security and climate resilience. This includes innovative solutions in fermentation, cultivated meat, plant-based proteins, and food safety & toxicology. Startups will be evaluated on their technology innovation and readiness, market potential and validation, business model scalability, and team capabilities.

From the entries, eight promising startups will advance to the final pitching round which will be held at the Singapore International Agri-Food Week in November 2025. Three winning startups will be selected, and each winner will receive seed funding and in-kind support of up to S$175,000. Bezos Centre @NUS will provide a S$75,000 cash grant, and EnterpriseSG will match this with a S$75,000 Startup SG Founder (Competition) grant.

Winners can utilise the seed funding for R&D, prototype development and to conduct pilot trials for sustainable protein products. Besides the funding, winners will receive up to S$25,000 worth of in-kind support from Bezos Centre @NUS. This includes mentorship, laboratory facilities, office space, startup incubation resources, and the opportunity to pitch at an annual startup event.
Interested startups can submit their applications from 1 August to 8 September 2025. More information on the Sustainable Protein Startup Competition is available at: https://go.gov.sg/spsc-2025.

Support for growth-stage sustainable protein startups
As part of its US$3 million funding to accelerate sustainable protein solutions, Bezos Centre @NUS has earmarked up to US$1.5 million to help growth-stage sustainable protein startups and high-potential projects scale up production, strengthen market presence, and drive international growth.

Bezos Centre @NUS plans to award grants of up to US$500,000 each to three promising startups or high-potential projects. EnterpriseSG will be partnering with Bezos Centre @NUS to further enhance this support through the Startup SG Tech Grant matching. More details will be announced in November this year.

About National University of Singapore (NUS)
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education, research and entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. We have 15 colleges, faculties and schools across three campuses in Singapore, with more than 40,000 students from 100 countries enriching our vibrant and diverse campus community. We have also established more than 20 NUS Overseas Colleges entrepreneurial hubs around the world.
Our multidisciplinary and real-world approach to education, research and entrepreneurship enables us to work closely with industry, governments and academia to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and the world. Researchers in our faculties, research centres of excellence, corporate labs and more than 30 university-level research institutes focus on themes that include energy; environmental and urban sustainability; treatment and prevention of diseases; active ageing; advanced materials; risk management and resilience of financial systems; Asian studies; and Smart Nation capabilities such as artificial intelligence, data science, operations research and cybersecurity.
For more information on NUS, please visit nus.edu.sg.

About Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at NUS
The Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was established in September 2024 to advance research and lead commercialisation efforts in Alternative Protein, acting as the nexus in the Asia-Pacific region. Key areas of research include Microalgae & Biomass Fermentation, Plant-based Proteins, Cell-cultured Meat, Nutrition, Toxicology & Consumer Science. With a US$30 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, the Centre will spearhead interdisciplinary research and innovation to meet the nutritional needs of the growing global population.

The NUS Centre joins two other Bezos Centres at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom and North Carolina State University in the United States, forming a global network dedicated to advancing sustainable protein research. Each Centre is tackling a distinct area of the science and is focusing on regional preferences and consumer dynamics within their geographic locations. For more information, please visit: Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein @NUS: Overview | LinkedIn or Website: https://www.fst.nus.edu.sg/bezoscentre/

About Enterprise Singapore
Enterprise Singapore is the government agency championing enterprise development. We partner committed companies to build capabilities, innovate and go global. We drive
growth – empowering local businesses and shaping industries, anchoring Singapore as atrade and startup hub, and establishing trust in our products through quality and standards.
We’re here, for wherever you’re growing. Visit www.enterprisesg.gov.sg for more information.