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- EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech & Digital News
MANILA, April 23, 2024 (SDN) — Four Filipino-owned startup companies joined today’s pre-event pitching activity for the 2024 One ASEAN Startup Award being held here.
An initiative of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), the award recognizes and supports outstanding startups across Southeast Asia.
A statement provided by ERIA to SDN – SciTech & Digital News shows the aim of the competition is “to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the region, fostering the development of a dynamic and inclusive startup ecosystem.”
ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations whose members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
For the Manila pre-event, the prize for the winners of the two categories — Digital/Artificial Intelligence and Impact Startup — are US$10,000 each.
The five finalists in the Manila pre-event are:
Digital/Artificial Intelligence Category
- AtoANI Agriventures (Philippines) which presents a cutting-edge approach in production and distribution of fresh products through its own farm and partner farmers harnessing a produce-to-demand agriculture model.
- Betterteem Technologies (Philippines) enables business operations leaders to take preventive steps to mitigate potential disruptions to their service delivery as it demonstrates how their solution addresses unwanted employee resignation.
- Data8 (Malaysia) brings a fresh perspective to digital health and provides solutions that accelerate better outcomes by using technology and driving positive behavior change.
- FathomX (Singapore) presents a unique approach to MedTech AI that aims to deploy clinician friendly solutions to enhancing the existing workflow.
- IOL (Philippines) showcases their dedication in the field of education technology to help small companies in their digitization initiatives by building customized and modern system.
Impact Startup Category:
- AirX Carbon (Vietnam) commits to transforming industries with carbon-negative coffee-based materials.
- Reconnai (Japan) tackles plastic pollution through a waste sorting application.
- Rezbin Waste Technology (Philippines) initiates a mission to make waste disposal easy and fun for Filipinos.
- Sagri (Japan) implements a groundbreaking strategy to combat food crises and climate change using satellite data and AI.
- Surplus Indonesia (Indonesia) dedicates their efforts to combat food waste and food loss in Indonesia.
Co-organized with ERIA by the Philippine Council on Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), the Innovation Council of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the grant of $10,000 to each category’s winner serves as a research fund which comes with the commitment to be an E-DISC research partner.
DOST Undersecretary Dr. Leah J. Buendia for Research and Development (R&D), delivered the opening remarks for the event which has over 200 attendees, including Ramon M. Lopez, former secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), who chairs ERIA’s Governing Board’ the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ERIA, Koji Hachiyama, Hiroshi Ishikawa, senior program advisor on Startup Ecosystem and research fellow at ERIA, other ERIA executives, startup founders, and other guests.
The DOST official cited the government’s active participation and its initiatives in nurturing and promoting and fostering startups.
“Our country has in place supportive laws like the Innovative Startup Act and the Philippine Technology Transfer Act. Additionally, we have established technology business incubators (TBIs) to nurture and foster the growth of startups nationwide. We believe in the power of innovation and recognize the immense potential that startups hold for economic growth, job creation, and social development,” Buendia emphasized.
Ishikawa spoke with SDN on the sidelines of the event held at The Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City, Metro Manila.
“We want to highlight the promising, leading ASEAN startup companies. And today we picked 10 startup companies, and they are going to make a pitch (for the final in the Philippines),” Ishikawa said.
Today, he said, is the pre-event award for two winners of the Manila leg. “We call it the One ASEAN Startup Award 2024.”
The ERIA research fellow revealed that they received 120 proposals for the Manila pre-event award, half of them from the Philippines.
“Technology is very important in solving social problems,” said Ishikawa when asked about the focus on technology.
Ishikawa noted how he perceived the country’s startup scene.
“I think the startup ecosystem in the Philippines is very vibrant right now with many young talents starting companies who are also looking for business solutions utilizing technology like AI. And the (Philippine) government like the DOST is very active in the startup ecosystem,” the ERIA senior program advisor.
“It is something we believe the Philippines would be the center of startups in the future.” (/)