The Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST PCIEERD) has extended P43 million worth of research and development grants to 14 startup firms.
DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico Paringit said the funding assistance under their Startup Grant Fund Program seeks to help the Philippine economy bounce back and at the same time, provide avenues for startups to promote their cross-cutting technological products and services.
“As leader and partner in enabling innovations, we are on the constant lookout for new talents that can infuse new blood into Philippine economy through innovative products and services. We are excited for our new 14 startups who will commence a new breed of innovators in the country,” he said in a statement on Thursday, June 17.
Nine of the 14 startups come from Luzon, while three hail from Mindanao and two from Visayas.
Here is the DOST-PCIEERD’s list of beneficiaries of the R&D grants and their respective projects:
-Agrabah
Project title: An Agriculture Technology Platform automated logistics booking for farmers and fisherfolks
Agrabah provides an integrated platform that arranges delivery of agricultural produce from farming communities to enterprise, providing farmers a seamless experience to market, easy access to clients and financing to meet volume requirements.
-Mosaic
Project title: New Product Development and Market Validation of a Mosaic Online Food and Beverage Procurement Marketplace Platform
Mosaic is an online food and beverage (F&B) procurement marketplace for food establishments and suppliers.
-CAWIL AI
Project title: Enhancement of the Prototype and Market Validation of Traceability Access for Consumer and Export powered by Artificial Intelligence (TrACE.AI) Software System
TrACE.AI is a Fish- Electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability app which automates catch documentation by utilizing artificial intelligence in identifying fish species.
-Burket PH
Project title: Improvement and Assessment of Marketability of an AI-powered Buyer-Supplier Matching and Management System for Businesses in the Philippines
Burket platform is a digitized procurement processes for business-to-business transaction.
-Zippee
Project title: Enhancement and Validation of Zippee Logistics: A Franchise B2B Logistic Platform for Truck Owners and Franchisees
Zippee Logistics is a B2B logistic service booking platform for truck owners and franchisees.
-Insights
Project title: Enhancing the MSME Supply Chain Experience by Integrating Cold Chain Solutions in DeliverE 2.0
The DeliverE Platform integrates different agriculture stakeholders into a single digital platform from farmer-to-consumer (F2C), business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C), which increases process cycle efficiency by 63% by shortening the agriculture supply chain from 8 steps to 4 steps. It also includes monitoring of transport fleet and warehouses.
-Bizkit
Project title: Enhancement of BizKit (The First Local Centralized Business Suite) to better facilitate cross-functional and holistic business operations in the new normal
BizKit is a local centralized business suite to streamline processes and information across the entire company and enable real time data visibility of business status.
-CodeChum
Project title: Market Segment Validation and Targeting for CodeChum, An Online Programming Class Platform
CodeChum is an online, web-based platform for programming education for teachers and students.
-Infinit LMS
Project title: Enhancement and Market Validation of Infinit LMS a Learning Management System with Outcomes-Based Education Analytics
Infinit LMS is a learning management system to conduct online learning and for sharing of materials and resources.
-Tinkerhouse
Project title: Enhancement of Prototype and Market Validation of TinkerClubs.com (A STEAM-Learning Platform for K-to-6 Learners)
TinkerClubs is an online learning community platform that supports STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) workshops, projects and learning kits for young students.
-Lesstics
Project title: Enhancement of Material Property of Lesstics Roofing Tile (Bio-based Insulation Polymer/Waste Single-Used Plastic Composite)
Lesstics is a cost-effective and sustainable material derived from waste Single Used Plastics.
-ROBIN
Project title: Enhancement and Market Validation of ROBIN (A reverse vendo machine for collecting PET bottles and aluminum cans)
ROBIN (Recycle On-demand BIN) is a reverse vendo machine that collect plastic bottles and aluminum cans for exchange of reward points.
-IOL
Project title: Enhancement and Validation of the Advanced Robust Cooperative System (ARCS), an integrated Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) solution for cooperative management and regulatory compliance
The Advanced Robust Cooperative System (ARCS) is a Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) platform that will help cooperatives in the Philippines manage and grow their operations and comply with regulatory requirements by integrating various basic and advanced data collection and reporting modules unique to cooperatives in an easy-to-use online platform.
-OBX
Project title: Enhancement of Local Disaster Reporting and Response System
OBX’s Local Disaster Reporting and Response System is a system that easily identifies and tracks the location of the reported incidents and facilitates the dispatching of appropriate response to emergency needs.
The DOST-PCIEERD said the projects of selected startups were aligned with a program theme, “Jumpstarting the Economy in the New Normal.”
Startup businesses are expected to provide automated, digitalized, and contactless solutions under the following areas of concern:Sustainable Industries, Supply chain and logistics management, Learning/Education, Work from home productivity tools, Content and talent development, and Digitally empowered Tools for public service.
“The Startup Grant Fund Program was initiated to overcome R&D roadblocks by means of prototype improvement, conduct of feasibility studies, development of product specifications, as well as validate user requirements, to strengthen their intellectual property (IP) by means of protection and development of the appropriate IP strategies,” the Council said.