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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Filipino startup 'Rezbin' wins ASEAN Startup Award 2024

Filipino startup 'Rezbin' wins ASEAN Startup Award 2024

Published Apr 23, 2024 01:36 pm

At A Glance

  • Rezbin, a Philippine-based startup, has been awarded the Impact Startup category at the ASEAN Startup Award 2024 for its application that incentivizes proper plastic waste disposal.

Rezbin, a Philippine-based startup, has been awarded the Impact Startup category at the ASEAN Startup Award 2024 for its application that incentivizes proper plastic waste disposal.

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(Top 10 finalist together with DOST, startup founders from ASEAN and East Asia during the event on April 23 / Photo by Rhowen Del Rosario)

The Department of Science and Technology, Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) held the pre-leg ASEAN Startup Award 2024 on Tuesday, April 23. The event featured 10 finalist startups from around the world pitching their innovative ideas.

Two startup winners were announced from the finalists, with each receiving a USD 10,000 research fund to support their expansion plans and contribute to the research initiatives of ERIA.

For the Impact startup category, Rezbin was chosen by the panelists for its unique approach to tackling plastic pollution, a major environmental concern in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

During the presentation, Rezbin Co-founder Mica Martirez said their QR-code bins linked to an app reward proper waste disposal, aiming to address the country's status as one of the biggest ocean pollutants.

She added that they provide plastic recovery bins to drop-off points, including barangays, schools, offices, hotels, and sari-sari stores, where refillable options should also be encouraged to help reduce plastic use.

Martirez highlighted the initiative's potential to reduce plastic waste and create valuable products.

She mentioned that collected plastic has been transformed into everyday items like vases, tables, and even phone cases.

"Our goal is to build the biggest network possible," Martirez said after receiving the award. "We hope to emulate countries like Singapore where responsible waste disposal is a common practice. We believe everyone can make a difference by recycling and properly disposing of waste,” she added.

In September 2023, Rezbin also won the Best Tech Startup organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region VI.

Meanwhile, another major prize in the category of digital or artificial intelligence (AI) was won by Fathom X from Singapore.

The group won the prize for utilizing applications that empower women's health by using technology to read mammography images for breast cancer screening.

It added that the software detects and identifies suspicious breast cancer cases based on features or information extracted from the images.

Moreover, ERIA said they will move on to the next pre-event startup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Rezbin DOST-PCIEERD
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