Tech entrepreneurs (techpreneurs) of Filipino heritage made waves in the Silicon Slopes Summit held on October 14 to 15, 2021, in Utah.
During the summit, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Philippines-based cofounder of Yield Guild Games (YGG) Gabby Dizon introduced a business online gaming model that will allow unemployed gamers, especially Filipinos, to earn money amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
YGG's “Play to Earn” is reported to allow players to convert their time and skills into cryptocurrency and real money.
"YGG acquires non-fungible token (NFT) assets that generate yields and make these accessible to players, thus, removing financial barriers for players and enabling them to participate in the Metaverse economy without upfront costs," the DFA said.
"During the pandemic, unemployed Filipinos in the provinces were able to play and earn using the technology," it added.
According to the DFA, the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco attended the Silicon Slopes Summit in Utah upon the invitation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Public and International Office.
Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona, who represented the Consulate General, also met Hunter Sebresos, a Utah-based Filipino-American owner of startup Bacon.work.
Sebresos's Bacon allows employers to hire employees through their app, which enables job hunters to pick and choose a shift in minutes.
Meanwhile, the DFA said consular corps of San Francisco and Los Angeles also had breakfast sessions with business leaders and CEOs of tech companies, including Cyd Tetro of Brandless, Inc., Owen Fuller of Lucidpress, and Dano Ybarra of MyHive Global, among others. State officials such as Rep. Tim Hawkes, Sen. Luz Escamilla, and Sen. Todd Weiler also attended the breakfast sessions.
The Philippines is a leading IT and Business Process Management hub in Southeast Asia. The country’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry recorded 1.4-percent growth in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BPO sector generated $26.7 billion in revenues in 2020. The Philippines also has a growing startup industry, which has raised over $40 million even with the onset of the pandemic.
According to the DFA, the Philippines will be hosting the third Philippine Startup Week from November 15 to 19, 2021, to highlight the Philippine startup ecosystem as an engine for recovery post-pandemic. More details about the conference can be found on their website.