Stellarate 4.0 Innovation Challenge

About Stellarate 4.0

Stellarate is Stellar Lifestyle’s Innovation Programme, designed to create opportunities with tech-innovators, public sector and industry partners, and start-up investors to discover new business concepts that can add vibrancy and convenience for customers in the SMRT’s transit retail ecosystem.

Now in its fourth edition, Stellarate 4.0 builds on the momentum of previous calls to raise the ambition further. Through Stellarate 4.0, Stellar Lifestyle and JRE Ventures are inviting innovators to reimagine what a station retail space can be — bringing novel, technology-led retail concepts into the SMRT network that give commuters a reason to stop, engage and spend, and position Singapore's rail stations as destinations for the future of transit retail.

Challenge statement:

How might we activate prime SMRT retail spaces with novel, technology-led retail concepts that give commuters a compelling reason to stop, engage and spend — turning high-footfall corridors into commercial destinations worth returning to?

What are we looking for?

Stellar Lifestyle and JRE Ventures are looking for innovators who can take a prime retail space within the SMRT network and bring it to life with a concept that is genuinely new — one that gives commuters a compelling reason to stop, engage and return. The winning concept should be built around a meaningful technology core, designed for the realities of a busy transit environment, and capable of sustaining itself commercially beyond the supported period. 

Awards for winning teams:

Stellar Lifestyle:

• Up to 12 months of sponsored retail space at SMRT Station
• Cash grant of up to S$10,000 per winner
• Up to S$500,000 worth of media and marketing support across Stellar Lifestyle’s advertising network

JRE Ventures:

• Potential pathways and business matching opportunities for expansion into Japan
• Cash grant of up to $10,000 per winner

JRE VenturesJRE Ventures
IMDA:

• Access to innovation sourcing, mentorship, workshops and advisory support through the Open Innovation Platform (OIP) ecosystem

UOB:

• Complimentary subscriptions from UOB BizSmart partners:
  • 1-year complimentary Talenox Suite subscription (worth S$4,578)
  • 1-year complimentary Lunchbox Smart POS Solution with hardware (worth S$5,000)
  • 1-year complimentary Xero Premium subscription (worth S$1,140)
• 50% waiver on facility fee for financing support
• Access to increased profiling opportunities

Eligibility for application:

Stellarate welcomes applications from companies, startups, SMEs and innovators seeking to pilot and validate their concepts within Singapore’s SMRT network.

• Be a business entity registered in Singapore. International companies may apply through a Singapore-registered entity
• Have an existing partnership, collaboration, Letter of Intent (LOI), or similar arrangement with an organization that has a presence in Singapore
• Be prepared to pilot and operate the proposed solution within the SMRT network if selected

Key Dates & timeline

• Application opens: 6 Jul 2026
• Application closes: 14 Aug 2026
• Shortlisting & Clarification: 31 Jul – Early Sep 2026
• Final showcase & selection: End Sep 2026

Find out more about the eligibility criteria and how you can submit your proposal for Stellarate 4.0 here.

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Footnote
About JRE Ventures:
JRE Ventures Pte. Ltd. is the corporate venture capital arm of East Japan Railway Company (JRE Ventures). Established in 2024 and based in Singapore, JRE Ventures collaborates with startups across Southeast Asia to co-create innovative solutions that drive growth in JRE Ventures’s non-railway business domains, particularly in the retail, advertising, and logistics within and around railway stations. For more information: https://jreventures.com/