November 18, 2022 — Day 5 of the Philippine Startup Week 2022 kicks off with the country’s first-ever live crowdfunding at the DEVCON Summit 2022 held at the SMX Convention Center Aura, Taguig City.
The live funding event entitled “Accelerate PH: The Philippines’ First Live Funding Demo Day” was made possible by PHSW, Talino Labs, Stonks, USAID, and QBO.
Accelerate PH highlights emerging Filipino businesses so they may showcase their ideas to a global audience as well as a panel of renowned tech leaders and investors.
The panel of judges was composed of Katrina Chan, Executive Director at QBO; Will Charnock, Board of Advisors at Talino Venture Labs; Vice Catudio, Digital Finance Advisor at Chemonics; and Jacob Cue, Associate at Foxmont Capital Partners.
Online additions to the roster of judges were Michael McClune, Senior Director for International Trade at the World Trade Center, and Daren Eng, Executive Director at Lava.
Eight (8) promising Filipino startups pitched their ventures and offered unique, exciting, and trailblazing business ideas and solutions:
- Smile API (Jan Pabellon, Chief Product Officer) — provides income and employment data across platforms and employers, all through a single API.
- Stanible (Harry Santos, Co-founder and CMO) — making NFTs simple for creators and fans.
- On Demand Deals (Fernando Ramos, CEO) — a social commerce company that turns any vacant area into an instant business with cloud convenience stores that deliver in seconds.
- TrashCash PH (Jomiel Kyle Salvador, Co-founder and Director of Business Development) — a social enterprise startup that wants to use an AI-based and data-driven waste segregation platform to revolutionize proper waste management disposal.
- Cocotel International (Rafael Jouwena, CEO and Founder) — a tech-hotel brand that collects budget accommodations in getaway locations across the Philippines and, soon, the rest of Southeast Asia.
- Forent (Jayvee De Leon, CEO) — a peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace enabling car owners to make money by renting out their cars when not in use while giving individuals in need of transportation an affordable and quick method to rent a car.
- Britana (Ana Calubad, Managing Director and Co-founder) — an enterprise-grade business application developer for small and medium-sized organizations.
- Uproot Urban Farms (Robi del Rosario, Farmer Entrepreneur) — seeks to give nearby populations access to wholesome, nutrient-dense produce, particularly at this time of greatest need.
Cocotel International, On Demand Deals, and Britana were the three chosen startups to receive funding from a network of accredited investors from Stonks.
By providing the local startup community with investment options through this first-ever live financing demo day, DEVCON Summit, Talino Ventures, QBO, and Stonks are propelling the emergence of the Philippines as the fastest-growing hub of innovation in Asia.
The summit was followed by various community events, both online and in-person, held across the country, such as “Championing Innovations in Criminal Justice” by the University of Cordilleras and “Investing in Cryptos: Do’s and Don’ts” by Sprout Up Bohol.
An exclusive night fest hosted by Microsoft marked the culmination of Day 5 and the whole Philippine Startup Week 2022 conference.
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