FILE PHOTO: Flag of the Philippines. – Philippine startups continue to show what they can do to bring innovation to people’s lives—and their hard work is not left unnoticed. At the latest Asia Technology Entrepreneurship Conference’s (ATEC) Startup Competition in Hong Kong this December, two Filipino enterprises were recognized as the region’s best innovators in their respective categories. | INQUIRER.net stock image

Philippine startups continue to show what they can do to bring innovation to people’s lives—and their hard work is not left unnoticed.

At the latest Asia Technology Entrepreneurship Conference’s (ATEC) Startup Competition in Hong Kong this month, two Filipino enterprises were recognized as the region’s best innovators in their respective categories.

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InvestEd, a financing platform that lends to students who need aid in paying tuition, won in the artificial intelligence and digital solutions category. The company employing a proprietary credit scoring algorithm extends loans to unbanked students, making financing accessible. It gets the students who are part of the socio-economic classes C, D, and E.

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E-commerce enabler Packworks, meanwhile, emerged as the winner in the smart commerce and logistics category.

“Reaching 4,000 stores is an incredible milestone that reflects the trust and loyalty we’ve earned from our customers over the years. It’s also a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our team” Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) co-founder and chairman of the board Jose Pardo said in a statement Tuesday.

Packworks provides digital solutions to over 300,000 sari-sari stores so they can make their operations more efficient. Its suite of products include tools for pricing, inventory management, and sales tracking.

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READ: Young Asian tech innovators honored for social impact

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ATEC is the biggest alumni-led technology conference in Asia. The annual startup competition celebrates the excellence of enterprises that develop new and cutting-edge products.

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In this year’s competition, the 40-member selection committee screened 106 applications, through which 32 semi-finalists were shortlisted.

A startup can join the competition after getting nomination from an alumni organization that is part of ATEC.

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In this case, both InvestEd and Packworks were backed by the Harvard Club of the Philippines Global.

READ: Biz Buzz: Philippine startups on international stage

Last year, homegrown Mayani won the Emerging Market Solutions Impact Award. A social enterprise linking over 139,000 smallholder farmers to retail and commercial consumers, this startup has helped a lot of indigenous farmers in Zambales.

According to a study by local market research firm Uniquecorn Strategies, majority or 75 percent of the Philippine startups were keen on achieving profitability over growth to reduce dependency on investor funding.

More than half or 55 percent of the founders surveyed expect to become profitable within the next one to two years.

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Next on the list of their priorities are customer experience and product development at 55 percent each.ph6

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