Local Innovators Shine: The 4 Phosphateers, hailed as the 1st Visayas TECH PLANTER Demo Day 2024 Grand Winner!
The Visayas region’s vibrant startup ecosystem burst into full bloom last Saturday as the first-ever Visayas TECH PLANTER Demo Day concluded with a resounding success. The event showcased the region's brightest minds and their groundbreaking innovations, leaving a lasting impression on the attendees and the startup community as a whole.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our partners, Delightex Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), Focus Systems Corporation (Japan), Alternõ Pte. Ltd. (Vietnam), FiberCraze Co., Ltd.(Japan), Galdieria Co., Ltd.(Japan) , Department of Science and Technology Region 6 (Philippines), Department of Trade and Industry Region 7 (Philippines), Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office of Iloilo(Philippines), and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Iloilo(Philippines), Iloilo Science and Technology University (Co-Organizer), e27 (Official Media Partner), Book Latte (Strategic Partner), and Zen Labs (Strategic Partner), whose invaluable support made this event possible. Their commitment to fostering innovation in the Visayas has been instrumental in the success of the first Visayas TECH PLANTER.
The 1st Visayas TECH PLANTER kicked off with opening remarks from Ms. Joanna Marie Cua, Project Leader, and Dr. Yevgeny Aster Dulla, Managing Director of Leave a Nest Philippines. Ms. Cua emphasized the significance of regionalizing TECH PLANTER to uncover the Visayas’ untapped potential, fostering a robust startup ecosystem. Dr. Dulla highlighted the program's core mission of nurturing innovation. He likened the participating teams to pioneering seeds with the power to transform the region and beyond, strengthening the local startup community. He also emphasized that the partners are the fertile soil where these groundbreaking seeds can grow and thrive, strengthening the local startup community.
Prior to all the pitch presentations, Mr. Jay Gajudo of Galansiyang, a TECH PLANTER alumni and one of the Grand Winners of TECH PLANTER Philippines from Mindanao delivered the keynote speech to share his journey and achievements as an inspiration for aspiring deep technology startups across the country. His experience and the success of Galansiyang’s success story serves as a testament to the potential of local teams to make a global impact when fueled by passion and supported by initiatives like TECH PLANTER.
Mr. Jay Gajudo – Chief Executive Officer of Galansiyang
With a shared commitment to tackling pressing societal challenges through innovative, science-driven solutions, each team passionately presented their vision. Their pitches delved into personal motivations, identified target issues, outlined proposed solutions, and articulated their strategic path forward. The Leave a Nest Group and its partners commend all participants for their dedication and journey through the Visayas TECH PLANTER program, from initial application to the culminating Demo Day.
From a pool of exceptional 9 finalists and 5 lightning talk speakers, the following teams emerged victorious:
The 1st Visayas TECH PLANTER 2024 concluded with The 4 Phosphateers emerging as the grand winner . The 4 Phosphateers aims to solve the issue of Inefficiency of phosphorus utilization in agriculture resulting in excessive chem fertilizer use and environment degradation by Isolating hot spring-derived thermophilic bacteria as phosphate-solubilizing bacteria for development of thermophilic PSB biofertilizers.
Find the other program highlights and awardees below:
The 1st Visayas TECH PLANTER Demo Day 2024 Awardees
GRAND WINNER : The 4 Phosphateers
Award Inclusions: PHP 30,000.00 Cash Prize
Technology Theme: Thermophilic bacteria show potential as PSB for biofertilizers due to their heat tolerance. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by evaluating the feasibility of the Strain JQTJ1 as a thermophilic PSB for biofertilizers.
LEAVE A NEST AWARD: CirPro Innovations
Award Inclusions: Invitation to participate at the Hyper Interdisciplinary Conference in the Philippines 2024.
Technology Theme: Create liquid pectin product from calamansi peels and eliminate the use of mineral acids to reduce wastes from fruit juice processors, the barrier to the adoption of pectin production from citrus peels through a streamlined and cost-effective process, and the reliance of the Philippines on pectin imports
DELIGHTEX AWARD: PakUAn
Award Inclusions: PHP 20,000.00 Cash Prize
Technology Theme: Due to absence of natural preservatives in the market from food wastes and losses, aims to Utilize Watermelon waste as a preservative for food products.
Focus Systems Award: ADITech
Award Inclusions: PHP 20,000.00 Cash Prize
Technology Theme: To address widespread problems of soil salinity in agriculture. Using advanced sensors to measure soil salinity, assess soil health, and provide personalized crop recommendations, optimizing yields and promoting sustainability.
FINALLY, CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO ALL THE WINNERS, PITCHERS, AND APPLICANTS OF Visayas TECH PLANTER 2024!
Visayas TECH PLANTER is more than just a competition; it's a platform for nurturing groundbreaking ideas and empowering the next generation of Filipino entrepreneurs. We are excited to witness the continued growth of the Visayas startup ecosystem and look forward to even more remarkable innovations in the years to come.
The journey of innovation continues! We are thrilled to announce the second Visayas TECH PLANTER, set to take place in Cebu on August 9, 2025. Aspiring entrepreneurs and tech innovators are encouraged to register their interest through a Google Form link and QR Code below:
https://bit.ly/VISAYASTECHPLANTER2025EarlyRegistration
For more details related to all the Finalist and Lightning Talk teams who pitched during the event and all the Judges who participated in the program, you may check out this related news articles:
https://global.lne.st/news/ph/2024/07/01/vistp2024judges/
https://global.lne.st/news/ph/2024/07/31/announcement-of-the-finalists-and-lightning-talk-teams-for-visayas-tech-planter-2024/