MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Four Philippine start-ups will train and vie for financial grants, possible regional investments, and coaching and mentoring support, as they join the 2021 Singtel Group Future Makers Regional Programme this month. The biennial event helps start-ups and enterprises cultivate their social innovation initiatives, and accelerate both business growth and social impact.
The programme is a collaboration among Singtel Group of Mobile Operators, including Advanced Info Services Plc. (Thailand), Airtel (India), Optus (Australia), Singtel (Singapore), Telkomsel (Indonesia), and Globe (Philippines). The programme was established to fulfill Singtel Group’s commitment to social innovation.
“Globe strongly believes in the Filipino talent and providing platforms for start-ups to learn and accelerate their growth will go a long way for these innovators. We continue to be an advocate of the start-up community because they are potential drivers of social and economic growth,” said Yoly G. Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications.
This year, Singtel Group Future Makers was participated in by 20 alumni impact start-ups from each local program to collaborate for potential regional expansion and collaboration supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals such as UN SDG No. 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), UN SDG No. 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and UN SDG No. 10 (Reduce Inequalities).
Through the program, these social innovators can benefit from financial, technical, and marketing assistance to scale up their projects as they present their cases alongside other emerging startups in the region. Thus, Singtel Group Future Makers provides these budding start-ups with capacity-building support, such as coaching and structured workshops. This can help not only sharpen value proposition and pitching capabilities, but also knowledge and insight sharing through mentorship.
Likewise, the start-ups will receive networking opportunities through the Singtel Group Future Makers alumni. Participants will also be encouraged to explore linkages through the Singtel Group Future Makers partner network, including potential and impact investors.
The programme will end with a Shared Value Pitch Day on 15 November where the top start-up from each region will get to pitch from a cash pool of up to S$150,000 to further their shared value collaboration proof of concept with Singtel Group partners. The pitch day will be attended by Singtel Group stakeholders, community partners, and impact investors.
“We are glad to have Globe as a long-time partner since the inception of the Singtel Group Future Makers Regional Programme in 2017. We look forward to using this platform to foster regional shared value opportunities with Globe’s nominated start-ups to generate both social impact for the communities we operate in and commercial returns for the business,” said Andrew Buay, Vice President, Group Sustainability, Singtel and Optus.
For this year’s run, the Philippines is represented by EdVenture, KodeGo, BentaTV, and Inon. Before going to the regional competition, the delegation underwent a careful selection process through the Globe Future Makers (GFM) program. GFM aims to help build an ecosystem of support for local social innovators who use technology to solve the country’s most challenging social problems.
Three of the start-ups namely BentaTV, KodeGo, and EdVenture are supported by 917Ventures, Globe’s wholly-owned subsidiary, and the country’s largest corporate venture builder. From online selling, IT careers and e-learning, these start-ups intend to make lives brighter for their users.
BentaTV is a platform that seeks to make online selling easier and more convenient for online “hustlers” in managing their business. KodeGo is a “study now, pay later” coding boot camp that can build IT careers in just 12 weeks while providing companies with top-quality talents. Lastly, EdVenture is an online learning platform that offers solutions to all the school stakeholders, such as online tutoring for kids, online consultation for parents, and online job opportunities for Filipino teachers.
iNON, on the other hand, caught Globe’s attention in 2019, for its mobile app, ISDApp, then considered to have “the most potential to improve life on Earth or in the universe.” The concept bested nearly 1,400 global entries to win one of six top spots at the annual hackathon challenge of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Since GFM’s debut in 2017, 13 different start-ups, locally and internationally, have been given a chance to build their brand and contribute to social development. These unique and pioneering start-ups focused on projects dealing with learning and education, health and well-being, climate change and displacement, and e-commerce.
Globe strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9, which highlights the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe is committed to upholding the United Nations Global Compact principles and 10 UN SDGs.
To find out more about Singtel Group Future Makers Regional Programme, visit: https://virtualsgfm2021.com/
To know more about Globe’s sustainability initiatives, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/about-us/sustainability.html.
