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Meet the Finalists and Lightning Talks: Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025 Takes Center Stage in Cebu!

Meet the Finalists and Lightning Talks: Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025 Takes Center Stage in Cebu!

Get ready, Visayas!

Visayas TECH PLANTER is back and heading to Cebu for another exciting showcase of science and technology-based innovation!

We’re thrilled to unveil this year’s Finalists and Lightning Talk teams who will take the stage at the TECH PLAN Demo Day, happening on August 2, 2025 (Saturday) at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, Cebu Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills, Cebu City.

Leave a Nest Philippines is committed to spotlighting the emerging deep tech sector within the university and startup ecosystems through the TECH PLANTER program. In recent years, research and development efforts have increasingly expanded beyond Metro Manila—and Visayas is quickly establishing itself as a hub of innovation.

Last year’s Visayas TECH PLANTER 2024, held in Iloilo City, was a landmark success. It brought together passionate researchers, startup founders, and ecosystem enablers from across the region. One of the standout stories was CirPro Innovations, who emerged as the Leave a Nest Awardee of Visayas TP 2024 and later went on to win TECH PLANTER in the Philippines 2025, held in Manila. This milestone not only affirms the exceptional talent rooted in the Visayas but also proves that world-class solutions can thrive from anywhere in the country.

As part of our continued effort to expand deep tech support, the Visayas TECH PLANTER serves as a regional platform to recognize and nurture science- and technology-based ideas born from Visayan research institutes, local startups, and community-driven enterprises. This initiative highlights the immense potential and ingenuity that exists across the region.

Aligned with its mission of “Exploring Deep Tech & Solving Deep Issues,” the TECH PLANTER program operates across six ASEAN countries: the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. It serves as an entry point for deep tech teams to access mentorship, research collaboration, and future investment opportunities.

For this year’s Visayas round, we received 33 eligible applications from across the region—each one showcasing the passion, creativity, and technical excellence of Visayan innovators.

Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025 Demo Day Finalists

Nine (9) finalists have been selected to present their technologies before a panel of judges composed of corporate representatives, government partners, and scientists. These teams will be competing for Special Partner Awards and future collaborative opportunities within the Leave a Nest ecosystem.

Stay tuned for more updates and award results on this page and through our official social media channels.

🧪 Finalists for Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025

Team

Description

AVAMOS μSORB Innovators Using shell-based adsorbents to treat contaminated industrial wastewater.
Kuray Innovation Innovating reef restoration methods to revive fish populations and support coastal livelihoods.
Green Solution.Ph Converting various waste streams into biofuels, including landfill and medical waste, as well as coconut and palm oil sources.
ThermoZyme Boosting sugarcane yield using heat-adapted organisms to enhance sugar content with fewer chemical inputs.
EKS-CACAO Developing natural microbial solutions to replace synthetic treatments for cacao black pod rot.
ZenLabs Venture Management Inc. AI-powered, tech-assisted community gardens to tackle food insecurity in landless and smallholder communities.
Team TANAW Improving disaster resilience planning via 3D models, AR, and geospatial visualization.
Team Brainstormers Utilizing hydroacoustics for sustainable fishing practices, marine ecosystem preservation, and livelihood support.
Team Burger Creates an automated system to streamline monitoring and management in aquatic farming operations.

⚡ Lightning Talk Teams

These up-and-coming innovators will deliver short presentations to showcase their early-stage research or startup ideas with the aim of joining future editions as full-fledged finalists.

Team Description
EcoSpun Transforming HDPE waste into reusable threads, tackling poor recycling and drainage-related flooding.
MuSEEuM Bringing cultural education to students through immersive, gamified digital museum experiences.
Nutrilink Providing an affordable, non-invasive allergy test to improve diagnosis and awareness in the Philippines.
Volt0₃ Innovative treatments to improve germination of aged rice seeds for enhanced yields and reduce waste.
PackUp Management Consultancy Services Designing accessible pharmaceutical packaging to aid elderly and visually impaired patients in safe medication use.

Watch out for the announcements in this page and our social media channels on who will be the winners of the Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025.

We look forward to seeing these passionate teams in action this August 2 in Cebu!