3 Selected Teams Get A Chance to Fly to Switzerland
Being recognized internationally for a groundbreaking business idea is every entrepreneur’s dream. And this dream may come true for three startups from the Philippines and India: Ascendant Technologies Inc. (Philippines), HDC Agri (Philippines), and Fat Cat Robotics (India), as they have an advantage to be shortlisted and fly halfway across the world to Switzerland to participate in Kickstart: The Swiss Accelerator, an 11-week program that will help scale their promising business ideas related to one of the program’s pillars: Food, FinTech, Healthcare, Robotics and Intelligent Systems and Smart Cities.
Impact Hub Manila, an incubator and co-working space provider, is the outreach partner for Asia of the Kickstart: The Swiss Accelerator, one of Europe’s largest multi-corporate, zero-equity technology accelerators. As part of this regional campaign, Impact Hub Manila hosted a Roadshow event where 12 teams were pre-selected to get training from three mentors and to showcase their innovative solutions to a jury panel.
“Being part of the largest global network of entrepreneurship and innovation centers, we partner with international organizations and Impact Hubs across the world to give opportunities for Philippine startups and entrepreneurs to showcase their talents,” shares LizAn Kuster, Co-Founder of Impact Hub Manila.
We believe Filipinos have the skills and knowledge to be part of the growing startup scene in a global scale and so Impact Hub creates the platform for them through collaboration,” adds Ces Rondario, Co-founder of Impact Hub Manila.
The Roadshow Event is in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in the Philippines, in celebration of the 60th year of Diplomatic Relations between Switzerland and the Philippines. This collaboration is born out of the commitment of the Swiss Embassy to harness creativity, and support enterprising solutions. Deputy Head of Mission Raoul Imbach represented the Embassy of Switzerland in the event as one of the judges. He is a big supporter of the entrepreneurship landscape in the country.
The collective belief of the Swiss Embassy is, “Innovation is one of the main ingredients of the success of Switzerland’s entrepreneurial system from its SMEs to its Multinationals. Promoting innovation in the Philippines through this event is, we believe, a good way for us to share something valuable and meaningful with the Philippines and its young entrepreneurs on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between our two countries.”
On September, the shortlisted teams will have the chance to meet over 15 corporate partners and mentors in Switzerland such as Swisscom, Swiss Life, AXA Winterthur, Credit Suisse, UBS, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Moreover, these partners will do a ‘Proof of Concept’ trial with the selected teams, where they can evaluate the feasibility of the pilot project and its potential for working together with the corporates. The event will conclude with a Final Demo Day on November, where each team will pitch their business ideas to potential investors, corporate leaders and the media. The finalists get the chance to win $25,000 of zero-equity funding!
Impact Hub Manila offers coworking spaces, incubation programs, corporate innovation workshops, and a vibrant learning community. Locally rooted and globally connected, Impact Hub continues to dominate the coworking industry as the largest global network of entrepreneurs with 15,000+ members in 101 Impact Hubs around the world. In partnership with KMC Solutions, Impact Hub Manila offers 6 key locations in Metro Manila for coworking or office space. This allows flexibility and convenience to entrepreneurs and startups who are passionate in collaborating to create an impact. Members can choose their preferred homebase (location) and move around other Impact Hub coworking spaces with no additional costs.
Visit impacthub.ph to know more about Impact Hub Manila and their coworking spaces. Follow Impact Hub Manila on Facebook or Twitter to get real-time updates on events and announcements.