Visayas Champions Innovation once again: EKS-CACAO Proclaimed as the Grand Winner of the Visayas TECH PLANTER Demo Day 2025!
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Visayas innovators have once again proven that their solutions make a meaningful impact, as the Visayas TECH PLANTER Demo Day 2025 marked a successful chapter in regional innovation. Held on August 2, 2025, at the Marco Polo Plaza in Cebu City, the event featured nine (9) finalists who presented their groundbreaking technologies and startups to a panel of judges and partners, all aimed at driving innovation-led growth in the region. In addition, six (6) lightning talk teams took the stage to pitch their ideas, seeking collaborators who share their commitment to addressing local challenges through deep tech innovation. The event served as a powerful reminder of the Visayas region’s growing role as a hub for transformative, purpose-driven technologies.
Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025 (VisTP 2025) is supported by local and global partners who are connected with the same goal of accelerating deep tech innovation across the region: Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation (Philippines), Focus Systems Corporation (Japan), Shinmaywa Industries, Ltd. (Japan), naturenix, Inc. (Japan), Quest Ventures (Philippines), Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Philippines), Department of Science and Technology Region 7 (Philippines), and Startup Island PH (Philippines), with Wildcat Innovation Labs as our Co-Organizer, and the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute as our Strategic Partner.
Turning the spotlight to the demo day’s proceedings, the event unfolded with a series of compelling presentations and interactions. The program kicked off with the opening remarks of Mr. Neil Clarence Diaz, Assistance Manager in Leave a Nest Philippines and the Project Leader of Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025, and Dr. Yevgeny Aster Dulla, Managing Director of Leave a Nest Philippines. Mr. Diaz emphasized the critical role of the VisTP 2025 teams and audience in advancing more deep tech innovators in the region. Dr. Dulla’s message underscores the potential of Visayas startup ecosystem, and what we as LVNS, the participants, and our partners can do to expand its growth beyond the region through Cebu’s strengths.
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| Mr. Neil Clarence Diaz (Project Leader of Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025) encourages the participants and audiences to bring their technology to society, not only to address social issues, but to create more innovators and changemakers across the region. | Dr. Yevgeny Aster Dulla (Managing Director of Leave a Nest Philippines) talked about what we have discovered about Cebu’s innovation landscape, and how we can leverage this to grow technologies and further develop the local ecosystem. |
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| Mr. Charles Gan, Research Head of Phosphateers, inspires participants and audiences about their journey as the Visayas TECH PLANTER 2024 Grand Winner. |
Before the pitching sessions commenced, Mr. Charles Gan, Research Head of Phosphateers and Grand Winner of the Visayas TECH PLANTER 2024, delivered the keynote address. He shared insights from their journey since winning VisTP last year, offering a glimpse into their current initiatives and continued growth. Drawing from their experience, he emphasized the untapped potential of Visayan startups and urged both participants and attendees to actively contribute to the region’s innovation ecosystem. His message set an inspiring tone for the day, reminding everyone that impactful change often begins with bold ideas and collaborative action.
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| Mr. Koichiro Watabe (top left), Associate Director – R&D and QA, Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation, Mr Ryo Inori (top right) Business Creation Department, Focus Systems Corporation, Mr. Takahide Kanesaka (bottom left) Assistant Manager of Shinmaywa Industries, Ltd., and Ms. April Ong Vaño, Head of Environmental, Social & Governance of Quest Ventures along with other judges, dug deeper into the participants’ technology, business models, and their vision. | |
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| Pitchers from finalist teams taking the stage to present their startup during the Pitching Session (From left to right: Kuray Innovations and Green Solution.Ph) | |
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| Lightning Talk pitchers took their opportunity to share about their and the collaborations that they are looking for from the partners and audience. | |
Visayas TECH PLANTER Demo Day 2025 Awardees
Among the brilliant 9 finalists and 6 lightning talk teams, EKS-CACAO has been proclaimed as the Grand Winner of the Visayas TECH PLANTER Demo Day 2025 for their innovative solution for challenges in agriculture, specifically in Cacao. They developed natural microbial solutions to replace synthetic treatments for cacao black pod rot. Currently, this technology is applicable only for cacao, but in the future, the team envisions using this to address problems in other crops as well.
Below are the other program highlights and team awardees:
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| Grand Winner: EKS-CACAO
Award Inclusion: Php 30,000 Cash Prize |
Technology Theme: Develops organic solution with biocontrol agents producing natural antimicrobial compounds against black pod rot disease in cacao, creating an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical fungicides for sustainable agriculture. |
| Reason for the Award: Their technology kills two birds with one stone – food security and livelihood. Not only does it prevent the spread of the black pod rot disease – thus having more harvest – it also helps farmers and MSMEs because cacao itself is a High Value Crop (HVC). Their technology is very timely as well in the global context as currently there is a shortage of cacao due to less yields being given by ageing cacao trees. | |
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| Leave a Nest Award: AVAMOS μSORB Innovators
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Technology Theme: Developed AVAMOS μSORB beads offer a multifunctional, efficient adsorbent made from underutilized green mussel shells and bamboo ash, capable of simultaneously removing phosphates, ammonia, and carbon dioxide from water. |
| Reason for the Award: Solving two issues at the same time – water treatment and waste management. Additionally, since the award invitation to the Hyper Interdisciplinary Conference, they are the best team whom we can support further through our partners present in the conference. | |
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| Focus System Award: EKS-CACAO
Award Inclusion: Php 20,000 Cash Prize |
Technology Theme: Develops organic solution with biocontrol agents producing natural antimicrobial compounds against black pod rot disease in cacao, creating an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical fungicides for sustainable agriculture. |
| Reason for the Award: Focus Systems saw the team as the most passionate. Cacao is one of the most important crops in the Philippines which makes the technology very beneficial to the farmers. Additionally, they also know a Japanese researcher working on cacao whom they can connect the team with. | |
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| Ajinomoto Philippines Award: Green Solution.Ph
Award Inclusion: Php 20,000 Cash Prize |
Technology Theme: Producing Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil, and also producing Bunker Fuel from Pyrolysis System from Plastic Waste with Zero Carbon Emission. |
| Reason for the Award: Ajinomoto Philippines is currently pushing for sustainability – and aims to adopt technologies that are able to make their current products more sustainable in the long run. Specifically, as one of Ajinomoto’s products entails the use of a lot of oil, the team’s technology is very useful for repurposing the oil being used for such. | |
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| Shinmaywa Award: Team TANAW
Award Inclusion: Php 20,000 |
Technology Theme: Project TANAW combines 3D-printed urban models, geospatial data, and augmented reality to create an interactive platform that enhances disaster risk assessment and sustainable urban planning. |
| Reason for the Award: Shinmaywa Industries’ technologies, particularly those for flood control, can complement the team's technology. As Team TANAW’s technology can only indicate which areas need to be given attention, it is important to also think of technologies, one of which is Shinmaywa’s, that can address flooding and mitigation of other disasters. | |
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Quest Ventures Award Award Inclusion: Business Development And Pitching Mentoring & Merchandise Kuray Innovation Innovating reef restoration using AHOY Reefs, made from calcium carbonate-rich discarded oyster shells, to revive fish populations and support coastal livelihoods. AVAMOS μSORB Innovators Developed AVAMOS μSORB beads offer a multifunctional, efficient adsorbent made from underutilized green mussel shells and bamboo ash, capable of simultaneously removing phosphates, ammonia, and carbon dioxide from water. EKS–CACAO Develops organic solution with biocontrol agents producing natural antimicrobial compounds against black pod rot disease in cacao, creating an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical fungicides for sustainable agriculture. |
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| Reason for the Award: The teams very much reflect the values of Quest Ventures. More importantly, their technologies have the most potential to grow as they solve technologies that are unique in the Visayas region. |
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| Judges share their final messages to VisTP 2025 participants and audience. (From top left to bottom right: Ms. Maria Elena Arbon of Startup Island.Ph, Engr. Francis Dy of Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mr. Rino Dominic Cabungcal of Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region 7, and Mr. Yuta Akakuma of naturenix, Inc.) | |
The Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025 was also attended by DOST scholars from Region 7 as part of their module in the Scholars Technopreneurship Training Program (STTP). The STTP, a program of the DOST-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) with Leave a Nest Philippines as the training provider, aims to immerse scholars in real-world innovation and entrepreneurial practices. Through VisTP 2025, scholars from Central Visayas were exposed to actual startup pitching sessions, allowing them to observe how early-stage technologies are presented to potential partners and investors. More than that, VisTP served as a platform for them to learn from the real-life journeys of the participating startups—from the conceptualization of their technologies to the challenges of product development, team building, and market validation. This experience not only enriched their academic understanding but also inspired them to envision their own future roles as innovators shaping the region’s progress.
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| Almost 100 DOST Scholars undertaking the STTP of the DOST-SEI during the Visayas TECH PLAN 2025 Demo Day and its Poster Session (above). | |
Beyond the Pitching Stage
Visayas TECH PLANTER is not only a competition, but most importantly, a door for the participants to grow their technologies and startup through the collaborations that they got from the event. As we move forward, we anticipate several of the teams will engage in collaborative research, pilot studies, or mentorship opportunities with our partners who expressed interest during the Demo Day. For instance, one of the partners approached a team to express support on the field trials of the team’s technology.Another partner gave their support on business development mentoring for the awarded teams. And, one team was approached by one of the judges right after the deliberation to learn more about their technology for possible adoption and expansion. These ongoing dialogues and collaborations are a testament to our commitment to supporting these innovators beyond the pitch stage, ensuring that their solutions reach real-world application and impact.
For more details about Visayas TECH PLANTER 2025:
Judges and Partners: https://global.lne.st/news/ph/2025/08/01/vistp2025-partnersjudges/
Co-Organizer: https://global.lne.st/news/ph/2025/07/31/vistp2025_coorganizer/
Finalist and Lightning Talk Teams: https://global.lne.st/news/ph/2025/06/27/vistp2025-finalists/
Ready to be the next Filipino Deep Tech Champion?
The Visayas TECH PLANTER Demo Day 2025 continues to develop the vibrant innovation journey for the region. We are incredibly excited by the talent and ingenuity showcased and are committed to nurturing this growing ecosystem! For those who are interested to join the next implementation of Visayas TECH PLANTER as a Finalist, please accomplish the quick Visayas TECH PLANTER Interest Check form (https://techplanter.lne.st/PH-InterestCheck).
As we look forward to continuing this vital initiative, we invite passionate organizations and individuals to partner with us in empowering Visayas' deep tech startups. For collaboration opportunities, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at: [email protected]