Twenty startups were selected to showcase their disaster resilience solutions at Slingshot ASEAN 2017.
QBO Innovation Hub, the Philippine’s public-private initiative for startups, has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), and the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to launch STARTUPS TO THE RESQUE.
STARTUPS TO THE RESQUE is an ASEAN-wide startup competition to develop solutions for disaster resilience and recovery. The pitching competition is to be held in DTI’s annual Slingshot ASEAN on October 20.
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The competition called on startups in the region to come up with ways that their existing platform, product, or service can be used to build creative solutions for global issues like environment disasters, pandemics, or conflicts.
“It can be any startup. For example Airbnb has the Open Homes programme and Facebook has the Safety Check feature. These are not disaster-related startups but they found a way to build on their platform to aid in disaster relief and recovery.” says Katrina Chan, Director of QBO Innovation Hub.
Out of the 150 startups that submitted their ideas, the 20 startups selected to showcase at the startup alley in Slingshot ASEAN, as well as undergo coaching sessions with mentors from QBO, UNDP, and PDRF, are:
- ChatbotPH (Philippines)
- AfterEFFECT (Thailand)
- Skyeye Analytics (Philippines)
- Gavagives (Philippines)
- LifeMesh (Philippines)
- Ascendant Technologies (Philippines)
- Senti (Philippines)
- Tralulu (Philippines)
- StyleGenie (Philippines)
- Cropital (Philippines)
- Timba(Indonesia)
- ServeHappy Jobs (Philippines)
- Pushkart PH (Philippines)
- UPROOT Aquaponics (Philippines)
- billionBricks (Singapore)
- Haraya (Philippines)
- Frontlearners (Philippines)
- Go Gridless Philippines (Philippines)
- Unomap (Malaysia)
- Blogapalooza (Philippines)
Six will be selected to pitch at the main stage of Slingshot ASEAN 2017. The winner of the competition will receive US$10,000 and a chance to work with the United Nations Development Programme. Second prize and third prize winners will also receive US$4,000 and US$2,000, respectively.
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“We want to create more success stories for startups,” says Rene Meily, President of both QBO and IdeaSpace. “By creating a platform for startups to pitch and potentially activate their ideas, we’re giving them the opportunity to grow, deliver meaningful impact to relevant communities, and make the world a better place.”
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Slingshot ASEAN aims to create a regional network of ASEAN ecosystem players including startups, angel investors, incubators, mentors, academe, co-working spaces, and industry experts. It showcases investment-ready startups for potential local and international investors as well as facilitate easy access of information between governments running startup development programs in the region. It will take place on October 19-20, 2017, at the Philippine International Convention Center.
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