Next Generation Global Leaders Shine at GKHF Aug 2025

Global Knowledge Hub Forum (GKHF) August 2025, organised by Leave a Nest Singapore, was a great success, building off  the 1st edition in August 2024 and 2nd edition in January this year. GKHF Aug 2025 brought together over 130 global ecosystem players representing MNCs, SMEs, startups and even government-related bodies, a significantly larger crowd than previous runs. By facilitating direct, deliberate communication between these players, GKHF helped bridge Singapore to other countries, birth Next Generation Global Leaders, and contribute to making Singapore a true Knowledge Hub.

 

This edition of GKHF saw a whopping six main sessions, twice the number of previous editions, thanks to the introduction of concurrent sessions. These included panel sessions, pitches from companies big and small, and even an educational seminar for the first time. A total of 30 presenters and exhibitors representing six countries participated in the event, where they also held in-depth discussions at the semi-closed 1-on-1 meeting space. Highlights of the day include an award presentation ceremony for the new D-0. venture builder programme, an investment announcement by venture capital 144 Ventures, and a special presentation by a member of the Embassy of Japan in Singapore.

 

Opening remarks

GKHF Aug 2025 began with opening remarks from project leader Mr. Leeyon Lim, who framed GKHF as the key to fulfilling Leave a Nest Singapore's mission of “Building Knowledge Hub by Nurturing Next Generation Global Leaders”. GKHF is a platform to create world-first collaborations, as well as accelerate the growth of budding entrepreneurs, and is thus essential to making Singapore a “true” Knowledge Hub. He asked the audience to think about how they could become Global Leaders in their own right, through utilising GKHF.

 

 

Following this, Programme Director of D-0. Mr. Shohei Maekawa briefly introduced the inaugural D-0. programme, which is co-created by Leave a Nest. He then awarded six participants from Singapore with a certificate of selection, signifying their progress to the next phase of D-0.. The six participants are: Mr. David Kho, Mr. Xu Yuan Shao Kennard, Mr. Evan Lim, Ms. Low Ho Ying, Ms. Zhong Yunyun, and Mr. Sho Chen.

 

 

AI Solutions Session

GKHF Aug 2025 kicked off with the first main session, titled “Solving Spaces: How AI Sees, Understands, and Transforms Our World“. Ms. Ayu Permata of Leave a Nest set the stage for the session, speaking about how AI-powered tools are moving beyond buzzwords to address real-world challenges in the industry. We then heard a problem statement pitch from Mr. Mohamed Faeze from IHI Asia Pacific, who spoke about the problems faced in his industry that could be solved with AI. The latter half of the session saw AI technology providers present their unique AI visualisation technologies, along with the issues they could be applied to tackling. The presenters are: Mr. Satoshi Yamamoto of Ricoh, Mr. Kevin Quah of Tictag, and Mr. Nurhan Raihan of RIFFAI. 

 

 

144 Ventures Special Session

Following this, the audience joined in on a special celebration: the sixth anniversary of 144 Ventures, a venture capital firm in the Leave a Nest Group. This session saw special opening and closing remarks by co-founders of 144 Ventures, as well as lightning pitches from nine portfolio startups, who joined us from Singapore as well as Thailand. The packed programme also featured an info session by a Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) representative on a research grant, as well as an announcement of investment by 144 Ventures into Thai startup Cleantech & Beyond.

 

 

Japan Technology Pitch Session

After lunch, the Japan Technology Pitch Session was held in the Main Hall. We saw a unique and significant presentation by Mr. Shuichiro Ozawa, First Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Singapore, who emphasised the need for Japanese SMEs and startups to pursue overseas collaborations in order to survive, and invited the global players present to work with Japanese startups. Then, three Japanese deep tech companies pitched their unique technologies, and also answered some questions from the audience. The presenters are: Mr. Shigeru Hayashi of Ibiden Bussan, Mr. Yoshinobu Yonehara of Kumahira, and Mr. Kenta Nakagawa of ugo.

 

 

Monozukuri Seminar

Concurrent to the Japan Technology Pitch Session, the Second Hall saw the first-ever educational seminar at GKHF. This special two-hour seminar was themed on “monozukuri”, or the Japanese way of manufacturing. Ms. Haruka Sakurai of Leave a Nest Singapore conducted the bulk of the seminar, with support from Mr. Shojiro Kobashi, CEO of Kobashi Holdings. Kobashi Holdings is a Japanese SME and a stalwart of monozukuri, having successfully partnered with startups to refine design documentation, streamline production handovers, and bring innovative products to market. Attendees left with new insight on requirements definition, design data management, and Japanese manufacturing practices, as well as a clearer roadmap for avoiding early-stage pitfalls.

 

 

Energy Resilience Session

The last main session held in the Main Hall was the Energy Resilience Session. This session was opened by Mr. Toyohisa Yamada, CEO of Yamada Shokai Holding, which is a 120-year-old Japanese SME with its traditional business in infrastructure, but has recently diversified into areas such as energy. A panel discussion followed, with Southeast Asian startups in the field of new energy discussing not just energy resilience but also expansion and proliferation of their technologies. The panellists are Mr. Hai Ho of Alterno, Mr. Goh Jin Rong of SolX Technologies, and Dr. Arjun Battharai of VFlowTech. The panel was moderated by Mr. Henry Tao of UntroD Capital Asia, a deep tech venture capital firm which has invested in all three of the panellists' startups. Lastly, the session was closed by Mr. Akihiko Nagata, also of UntroD Capital Asia.

 

 

From Science to Shelf Session

Meanwhile, in the Second Hall, a unique panel session titled “From Science to Shelf: Investing and Scaling Purpose-Driven Brands in the Well-being Economy” was underway. After opening remarks from Mr. Lee Hao Ming of Louken Group, the panellists convened and explored the journey new science and technology takes to go from the lab bench to the supermarket shelf, including research and development, marketing and branding, and so on. The panellists are: Mr, Clayton Tan of Omollomo, Mr. XL Lin of Esco Aster, and Mr. Ryo Sato of Morus. The panel was moderated by Mr. Noah Lee of Louken Group.

 

 

Booth Sessions / 1-on-1 Meetings

In between each main session timing, participants networked freely in the booth hall, where 18 exhibitors representing 3 different countries, as well as the six selected D-0. participants from the morning's ceremony, showcased their technology and ideas. Meanwhile, the 1-on-1 meeting room was always occupied by participants looking to create concrete progress in their collaborations, or find new business partners.

 

 

Closing remarks

The event was closed by Mr. Shohei Maekawa, Director of Leave a Nest Singapore, who emphasised in his closing remarks innovation is not something that can be realised in one day, and that the continuation of discussion is crucial to bring about actual innovation.

 

 

Leave a Nest Singapore would like to express our thanks to our Partners for GKHF Aug 2025: 144 Ventures Pte. Ltd.; Helical Fusion Co., Ltd.; Ibiden Bussan Co., Ltd.; Kobashi Holdings Co., Ltd.; Kumahira Co., Ltd.; Louken Group Pte. Ltd.; Morus Inc.; Ricoh Company, Ltd.; TOTO Ltd.; UntroD Capital Asia Pte. Ltd.; ugo, Inc.; and Yamada Shokai Holding Co., Ltd.. We would also like to thank all the exhibitors and participants for making this event a successful one.