Promoting SCP in ASEAN countries
ECOTHON 2021 IN THE PHILIPPINES: Impact Startup and Idea Competition for Sustainable Consumption and Production
International mentors, coaches, judges and competing teams of the ECOTHON in the Philippines 2021
HSF
Since 2019, the ASEM SMEs Eco-Innovation Center (ASEIC) and Hanns Seidel Foundation Vietnam (HSF) have been cooperating with relevant ministries and NGOs in different ASEAN countries to host an annual competition series aimed at facilitating sustainable consumption and production as well as a transition to circular economy in this region. With the supports from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups of the Republic of Korea, the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines (DTI), and the PhilDev Foundation, the competition was organised for the first time in the Philippines this year, attracting a special attention from innovative start-ups in the country with more than 60 competitive applications having been received.
Team AniTech presented their business idea on Day 1
HSF
During four days of the competition, 42 members of 12 finalist teams attended in intensive training and coaching sessions provided by experienced local and international experts and the final pitch of the ECOTHON 2021 in the Philippines. Their amazing business ideas strive for the goal of addressing challenges facing the environment and society today by encouraging the application of technology in closed-loop processes at different levels in various sectors: agriculture, food and beverage industry, waste management, paper product manufacturing, and housing and architecture.
Ms Lilian G. Salonga – Director of Competitiveness Bureau - DTI
HSF
In her opening remark, Ms Lilian G. Salonga – Director of Competitiveness Bureau of the DTI emphasised the great significance of business idea competitions in encouraging the development of eco-friendly business models and systems and finding solutions for existing social and environmental problems, and expressed her appreciation for efforts of ASEIC, HSF and local organisations in holding the ECOTHON in the Philippines despite hindrances caused by the pandemic. She also highlighted “the importance of linking and engaging Filipino start-ups to events like ECOTHON to maximise the exposure to talent and creativity of local SMEs”.
AniTech – First prize winner of ECOTHON 2021 in the Philippines
HSF
Team AniTech convincingly won first prize of the ECOTHON 2021 in the Philippines with the business model of developing a smart gas sensor system and platform which monitors the freshness and spoilage of fresh products through the supply chain: from the post-harvest stage up to storage and distribution. Second and third prize went to teams Phinix Storx and Kaka Wani, respectively. Team Phinix Storx is an early start-up who collects textile wastes, transforms them into higher-valued products, and packs them using sustainable packaging materials. Meanwhile, team Kaka Wani proposed a close-loop cacao supply chain model in which cacao wastes are upcycled to deliver new and unique flavours in the food and beverage market.
Together with the winners of ECOTHON 2021 in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, and Malaysia, team AniTech from the Philippines will join COMEUP 2021 – the biggest startup festival of South Korea – from 17th to 19th November to pitch in front of international experts and venture capitalists, and to receive beneficial comments on their sustainable business models.