MANILA, Philippines— “#TeamGoodBoy or #TeamDoSan?” This is a question lots of people had to answer following the 2020 hit K-drama “Start-up.” The said drama starring Bae Suzy, Nam Joo Hyuk, and Kim Seon Ho, along with Kim Do wan and others, is definitely one for the books! But hey, Start-up is more than just THE love triangle and it talks about innovative and trailblazing startups.
We’re pretty sure you thought, “It would be so cool to have our own Sandbox here in the Philippines,” or maybe, “A Filipino startup ecosystem would be nice.” Fret not, because we have long had a startup ecosystem even before Start-Up, the drama, came about. Now we’re only waiting for the love triangle, but no, kidding aside, here are 5 startups who showed great prowess and newsworthy causes in the Philippine startup Week 2021– #PHSW21:
Olivia
Olivia, led by Jocelyn “Jocs” Pantastico, is a tech startup whose goal is to free up companies from the tedious process of expense reporting. Scanning receipts and invoices with high accuracy so they can focus on things that matter. The Olivia app is enabling companies to generate expense reports in just a few seconds, a single tap. A powerful technology optimized for the Philippines.
The technology is not the first in the world as other companies abroad
are doing the same. However, it was the technology’s incompatibility
and the inability of foreign investors to look at the Philippines as a
competitive market that pushed Jocs to create a solution. Olivia was
specifically designed to recognize Philippine receipts and invoices
which takes hours or days for employees to work on. With the help of
Olivia, once a long and boring process, the team can now quickly
generate expense reports and focus on analyzing the data instead. In
turn, helping companies act quickly and strategically.
For more details about The Olivia App, you can contact them by sending an email to hi@olivia.com or by visiting their website here.
Nudgyt
Combining humanistic approach and technology— that’s what Nudgyt is. A young entrepreneur in the person of Kathleen Yu, and her team, provides large-scale businesses with intelligent nudges that helped their clients increase sales by 600%. With Nudgyt, companies like HSBC, Bounty, and P&G no longer work with just data but quality data at that. Actionable nudges that are sure to provide you personalized solutions as fast as possible.
With its primary competitor being in the US, Nudgyt takes pride in championing companies in the Philippines with data integrating applied psychology and specific cultural practices in the Philippines. These data then allow the company to divide quality from non-quality data depending on the nature of the business. Best part? The team’s 3o collective years in artificial intelligence and behavioral science is sure to help your business succeed in digital transformation projects.
To know more about Nudgyt, you can contact them by sending an email to info@nudgyt.com or by visiting their website here.
PasaJob
Ever referred a friend of family for a job and received a “ty” in turn? Worry no more as PasaJob, founded by Kristen Mariano, becomes the first long-chain referral-based job platform® in the Philippines. This means that you can earn from referring someone for a job. Not only that, but someone also you referred may pass the job and if the applicant gets hired, everyone in the chain gets part of the referral commission.
PasaJob has just materialized a culture of being resourceful and helpful within the Filipino community. Filipinos are sure to be naturally social creatures and what better way to socialize than socialize while earning. As of the moment, the company provides referral fees ranging from P30,000 to as high as P180,000 pesos. The company’s main goal is to address unemployment and underemployment by making more jobs public through their affordable job posting fees that cost only a fraction of what traditional job boards would cost. This allows the companies to get more positions filled by the right people and the job seekers to discover more jobs that suit their skillset.
To know more about PasaJob, you can contact them by sending an email to info@pasajob.com or by visiting their website here.
Qwote
Procurement is a very stressful process due to a rather strict nature of the job, to make sure everything goes smoothly. With Qwote’s technology, B2B suppliers and buyers can now enjoy an online procurement process— this is what Ian Sanchez, COO, made sure of. With over 700 suppliers and 100+ enterprise buyers, the company makes it a breeze for everyone. Qwote asks for necessary documents the other party may need such as sample invoices, BIR forms, etc. to save the hassle of requesting and waiting for it. With the company’s “Request for Qwote” feature, an enterprise buyer can now send an RFQ to relevant suppliers in one click.
Qwote makes sure to only work with the best to ensure they provide the biggest impact for the biggest problem in the procurement process across industries. Being one of the many B2B procurement platforms in the Philippines, the company works hard to make sure Qwote remains to be largest of its kind— a Lazada for companies, a Shopee for employees, and an Alibaba for the Philippines.
To know more about Qwote, you can contact them by sending an email to help@qwote.com or by visiting their website here.
Omnirio
Omnichannel commerce is a business strategy that allows companies to optimize user experience across various touchpoints, offline or online. Ever heard of it? That’s what Founder Archit Anand is doing with Omnirio. Multi-location inventory management, selling everywhere, managing everything in CRM, and winning customer loyalty are what Omnirio does best. For a technology that is plug and play, the company truly helps SMBs manage everything all in one place.
Founded in 2018 in Singapore, Omnirio got its first client in the Philippines— the SSI Group. Ever since, the company has helped 500+ stores do commerce at any point. Omnirio champions itself in augmented services backed up by a 24/7 client support system as the company firmly believes the success of their client is their success too. Set to launch in January 2022, a Freemium access, in limited slots, will be given to SMBs to help them start the business without charging them anything upfront. Fees apply soon after the business creates traction, allowing the owners to see the value of technology and soon be willing to pay for it.
To know more about Omnirio, you can contact them by sending an email to luisa.gamboa@omnirio.com or by visiting their website here.
With all the companies mentioned thus far, you now know not only Sandbox produces good startups. The Philippine startup ecosystem is truly one of the most competitive. Constantly providing innovative solutions and powerful causes, the community ranks among top 100 ecosystems in the world. As they continue to boost the economy and solve problems, be curious and support them too. Support startups. Support local.
adobo magazine is an official media partner of Philippine Startup Week 2021
