One hundred thirty-five startups and individuals have joined Globe Telecom’s Future Makers Program (GFM) which aims to address various issues contributing to poverty in the Philippines such as climate change and displacement, peace and security, health and wellness, and education and learning through the use of technology.
“We were happy with the level of interest on the program among tech innovators, seeing that this is the first time for Globe to do a project of this nature. The diversity of concepts and programs showed us that many people are actually using ICT to help address various social issues. Through the GFM, we would like to encourage more people to participate in social innovation,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe SVP for Corporate Communications.
Since its launch in March, the program drew the interest of individuals and startups based in various cities and provinces nationwide such as Cagayan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro, among others who submitted a working prototype of their technological or innovative solution. Of the four focus areas, learning and education received majority of the entries with 49%, followed by health and wellbeing, 20%; climate change and displace, 21%; and peace and security, 10%.
From the 135 participants, Globe will trim down the number to 10 who will pitch their solutions to a distinguished set of judges composed of executives from Globe and its social innovation partner Ashoka and its venture capital arm Kickstart Ventures, Inc. The two-week process will also involve interviews and site visits for further validation and assessment. Netizens may also vote online for their “My Future Maker” favourite.
The Top 10 will be further cut to the Final 5 who will be officially announced on July 14, 2017 to coincide with the celebration of Social Innovation Day. The top five teams will be provided with expert mentorship from Globe, Ashoka, and Singtel Group. On the other hand, the Portfolio Development team of Kickstart will facilitate access to relevant startup workshops or clinics, introductions to potential partners, mentors, advisers, and investors via Kickstart’s broad network as well as provide free Semaphore web-to-SMS API credits. Such support will allow the five teams to build their products faster and launch sooner to benefit the communities they aim to serve. GFM Candidates will be selected on a merit-basis in terms of business solutions and social impact.
The Globe Future Makers program, aligned to the social innovation program of the Singtel Group of Companies for Asia Pacific, was developed in order to influence and build a whole ecosystem of social innovators. They, in turn, will help create a positive impact on society with the help of technology, and the program will also serve as a platform to enable emerging social innovators to receive coaching and mentorship from some of the best social innovators around the world. For more about the Globe Future Makers program, visit www.globe.com.ph.
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