21/04/2026
🌍 This Earth Day, we spotlight a student turning ideas into climate action.
“Pressure is a privilege.” 💪
This belief has guided NUS Business School’s final-year BBA student Raphael Chew through every step of his entrepreneurial journey.
🌙 From late-night ideas to real-world impact
What started as brainstorming sessions at N-House (under NUS Enterprise) grew into Ecovolt, a startup Raphael co-founded with fellow innovators Eugene Chia and Glenn Quah from NUS Computing and Joseph Ho from the College of Design and Engineering.
Their mission? 🌍 Reimagining how buildings are operated and managed, for a smarter and more sustainable future.
🏆 Turning vision into action
After emerging as NUS Grand Champions at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Competition 2024, the team took their idea to market. Today, Ecovolt is piloting its IoT and AI-native building management platform with property partners in Singapore and beyond; helping buildings decarbonise, optimise energy use, and boost efficiency.
💬 “Buildings account for over a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions,” Raphael says. “We wanted to make sustainability accessible to every operations team, not just those with big budgets.”
📚 Where business meets innovation
At NUS Business School, courses like Pricing Strategy, Family Business & Wealth Management, and Entrepreneurial Finance fuelled Raphael’s startup journey, sharpening both the strategist and builder in him.
⚡ A challenge and a privilege
For Raphael, a 2025 Philip Yeo Initiative Fellow, entrepreneurship is more than a career path, it’s a chance to build a greener world, one idea at a time. 🌱✨