Fourteen startup companies whose technological products and services are expected to “create a huge impact in Philippine society” will receive a total of P43 million in research and development (R&D) grants from the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCIEERD).
Chosen from 54 R&D proposals submitted to the council on its first call, nine of the country’s “new breed of innovators” came from Luzon, three from Mindanao and two from the Visayas, the DOST-PCIEERD news release said.
“As a leader and partner in enabling innovations, we constantly look for talents to infuse new blood into the Philippine economy through innovative products and services,” DOST PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit explained.
Under the first cycle of the DOST-PCIEERD Startup Grant Fund Program, the 14 startups were selected for their innovative solutions that are aligned with the overall theme, “Jumpstarting the economy in the new normal.”
Here are the 14 startups that provide “automated, digitalized, and contactless solutions” in four out of six priority areas.
Sustainable Industries: These technologies fill the gap in the value chain of critically important industries to increase productivity, reduce costs and facilitate production and distribution of goods in the new normal.
1. Lesstics’s “Enhancement of Material Property of Lesstics Roofing Tile (Bio-based Insulation Polymer/Waste Single-Used Plastic Composite)” presents a cost-effective and sustainable material derived from waste single-used plastics.
2. Robin’s “Enhancement and Market Validation of Robin” introduces Recycle On-demand Bin, a reverse vendo machine that collects plastic bottles and aluminum cans in exchange for reward points.
3. IOL’s “Enhancement and Validation of the Advanced Robust Cooperative System, an integrated Software-as-a-Service solution for cooperative management and regulatory compliance” will help cooperatives in the Philippines manage and grow their operations and comply with regulatory requirements by integrating basic and advanced data collection and reporting modules unique to cooperatives in an easy-to-use online platform.
Supply chain and logistics management: These technologies reduce dependence on physical labor across transportation, logistics and warehousing or as platforms for online matching and delivery of goods from source to point of use.
4. Agrabah’s “Agriculture Technology Platform automated logistics booking for farmers and fisherfolk” arranges delivery of agricultural produce from farming communities to enterprise, providing farmers a seamless experience to market, easy access to clients and financing to meet volume requirements.
5. Mosaic’s “New Product Development and Market Validation of a Mosaic Online Food and Beverage Procurement Marketplace Platform” caters to food establishments and suppliers.
6. Cawil.ai’s “Enhancement of the Prototype and Market Validation of Traceability Access for Consumer and Export powered by Artificial Intelligence [TrACE.AI] Software System” is a fish-electronic catch documentation and traceability app that automates catch documentation utilizing AI in identifying fish species.
7. Burket’s “Improvement and Assessment of Marketability of an AI-powered Buyer-Supplier Matching and Management System for Businesses in the Philippines” is a digitized procurement process for business-to-business transaction.
8. Zippee’s “Enhancement and Validation of Zippee Logistics: A Franchise B2B Logistics Platform for Truck Owners and Franchisees” is a B2B logistics service booking platform for truck owners and franchisees.
9. InsightSCS’s “Enhancing the MSME Supply Chain Experience by Integrating Cold Chain Solutions in DeliverE 2.0” integrates different agriculture stakeholders into a single digital platform, from farmer-to-consumer, B2B and business-to-consumer, increasing process cycle efficiency by 63 percent, shortening the agriculture supply chain from 8 steps to 4 steps, and allowing transport fleet and warehouses monitoring.
10. Bizkit’s “Enhancement of BizKit [The first local centralized business suite] to better facilitate cross-functional and holistic business operations in the new normal” will streamline processes and information across the entire company and enable real time data visibility of business status.
Learning/Education: These technologies support remote learning, distance education and online learning in response to the surge in online teaching in schools and universities.
11. CodeChum’s “Market Segment Validation and Targeting for CodeChum, An Online Programming Class Platform” is a web-based platform for programming education for teachers and students.
12. Infinit LMS’s “Enhancement and Market Validation of Infinit Learning Management System with Outcomes-Based Education Analytics” is an LMS for online learning and sharing of materials and resources.
13. Tinkerhouse’s “Enhancement of Prototype and Market Validation of TinkerClubs.com [A STEAM-Learning Platform for K-to-6 Learners]” is an online learning community platform that supports Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math workshops, projects and learning kits for young students.
The Digitally empowered tools for public service: These enable government agencies to consistently deliver public services at a faster rate and a wider reach, but with enhanced accuracy and transparency.
14. OBX’s “Enhancement of Local Disaster Reporting and Response System” easily identifies and tracks the location of reported emergency needs.
The two other priority areas are:
Work from home productivity tools: Remote workers can use them for connection, collaboration, workforce monitoring, time management, among others.
Content and talent development: Tech support for content and talent development, infusion/enhancement of new digital tools and technologies, marketing and customer engagement activities.