MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Tech startup accelerator IdeaSpace recently organized its first virtual Demo Day, highlighting the work of the 12 startups in its 2020 acceleration program. This year’s Demo Day is the first time that the event has been held online since IdeaSpace started running its acceleration program in 2012.
“Startups are the pillar of the emerging digital economy. With their advanced technology and innovative spirit, they teach us new ways of purchasing, learning, consuming entertainment, and living. They bridge people, organizations, and industries to the digital economy. This class is no exception,” shared IdeaSpace President Butch Meily.
This year marked the first time that IdeaSpace has run its acceleration program online, from the judging to its six-week pre-acceleration program, all the way to its Demo Day, held last December 11, 2020. This year’s Demo Day features 12 startups working to pave an easier path for digital transformation in industries such as agriculture, education, healthcare, tourism, and media and entertainment and to support the Philippines’ emerging digital economy:
Farmvocacy looks to uplift the lives of smallholder rice farmers by helping them transition to climate-smart and by helping them secure a market for their produce, while Urban Greens brings sustainable farming and produce to cities using innovative hydroponic vertical farming systems.
Cerebro LMS provides digital teaching resources that help teachers drastically reduce their workload, saving time for themselves and their families, Giving Hero provides tech solutions for nonprofits so that they can focus on their mission, and MedHyve empowers small and medium medical institutions nationwide through a medical e-marketspace that makes medical procurement easier and more transparent. These startups use technology to give these sectors the speed, transparency, and urgency needed to keep up with the times.
Worky and Workbean aim to help both companies and job seekers through AI, machine learning, and customer centricity—addressing emerging, pressing needs in the market. By providing platforms to communicate their culture and values, and align expectations, they equip jobseekers and employers for the future.
Mash&Co. creates and develops audiovisual and innovative edutainment solutions for kids and families, tackling social issues, empowering kids’ emotional intelligence and soft skills, using gamified content, and transmedia narratives. TADAH is a gift platform that provides the next level online, indoor, and outdoor experiences as unforgettable gifts. That aims to create stronger relationships and improve one’s health–mentally, physically, and emotionally.
TakeFive Outdoors is an outdoor-engagement company that offers a new way to escape, and a refuge from the everyday mundane life by engaging people using the great outdoors.
By providing cooperatives and farmers’ groups with the knowledge, tools, and networks necessary to leverage social organization, establish standards, and coordinate fulfillment, Agro-DigitalPH aims to build a fairer ecosystem where the work of farmers is rewarded.
Meanwhile, Humble is working to create an ecosystem to turn unwanted, underutilized, or forgotten items into treasure, giving them new life and create structure for consumers seeking to reduce waste.
By January 2021, IdeaSpace will be announcing the three startups that will receive a Php 1 million equity investment from the accelerator.
“These startups show us what can happen when we co-create solutions with the goal of creating better outcomes and futures for everyone,” shares IdeaSpace Executive Director Diane Eustaquio. “We look forward to helping this year’s batch find collaborators, customers, and investors so that they can create a positive impact in their communities.”
IdeaSpace has made its full Demo Day program and the individual startup pitches available on its YouTube page IdeaSpace Foundation, Inc.
