“FINLIT”, a digital platform developed by a team of financial advisors, wins 1st place in the pitching competition for the first ever technology hackathon hosted in the province of Romblon.
The 2nd and 3rd places go to “Arat?G!” and “Malachi Visa Consultancy,” respectively.
Winning the event entails pre-seed funding for each of the teams to help them get started.
FINLIT spearheaded by Garry Vanz V. Blancia and Bianco Jerryl F. Advincula, which integrates fun and financial education into one system.
The platform aims to target Romblomanons who want financial security for themselves and their families. Though considered as a foundation in wealth building, financial education is something not taught in classrooms.
The innovators of FINLIT believe that with the right approach, most Romblomanons, if not all, will be financially literate in a few years’ time which will eventually contribute significant progress in the province of Romblon.
Arat?G! on the other hand is created by a team of instructors lead by Preexcy B. Tupas and her team from the Romblon State University Institute of Information Technology which makes use of artificial intelligence and virtual reality to help one choose where to eat and relax in Romblon.
The third place winner, “Malachi Visa Consultancy,” lead by Ms. Angelyn F. Fontanoza and her team, aims to ease visa application and foreign services for Romblomanons.
Highlighting the role of inventors and innovators in the progress of a province, Bayay Coworking and Innovations Space, Department of Science and Technology, Romblon State University Research, Extension, Development and Innovation, Local Government of Odiongan, and SHARKHUB joint hands in the conduct of the first ever technology hackathon in the province of Romblon last March 11 to March 13, 2021.
The event titled “Romblon Geeks: Techno Boot Camp and Incubation Program for Romblon Technopreneurs” showcases that Romblon is home for inventors and innovators with tech and innovation-enabled solutions that will address industry and community problems in the province.
These solutions, if not institutionalized, may lose their potential to contribute in Romblon’s and even the country’s progress.
The event aims to provide formal training, funding support, and opportunities for commercialization by bringing the inventors and innovators closer to potential funding sources, business mentors and experienced innovators that will help take their tech-enabled solutions to the next level.
The techno boot camp and incubation program started with a 3-day program which included lectures on Start-up Funding, Pitching, Startup 101, Intellectual Property Protection and One-on-One Mentoring with experienced inventors, innovators, start-up and business owners from the country.
The highlight of the 3-day program was the Pitching Competition wherein the participants were given seven minutes to present their tech-enabled solutions.
The panel of judges for the said competition included the Iron Man, Bamboo Man and Vice President for Research, Extension, Development, and Innovation, an innovator himself, Dr. Bilshan F. Servanez, the woman who initiated several innovations in the municipality of Odiongan, Honorable Mayor Trina Alejandra Firmalo-Fabic, and the founder of Bayay Coworking and Innovations Space and Odiongan E-Palengke, Mr. John Paul Bayang.
The winners will now be moving on to the 2-month incubation period which will be spearheaded by SHARKHUB.
During this time, the teams will bring life to their ideas through coaching, mentoring, and operational guidance with the goal of going to market and becoming bonafide start-up businesses.
