TeamseyRoll, the maker of e-basura (electronic waste) app, has won the 2015 Philippine Startup Challenge finals beating nine other teams.
The winning team of the government-led digital startup competition for college students are Dominique Kevin Macasero, Hernie Alexis Origenes, Joesenh Nino Codera, Albert Cueme, and Ed Ryan Estrella from the University of Cebu.
TeamseyRoll’s e-basura mobile app seeks to solve the problem of improper e-waste disposal.
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Monchito Ibrahim, deputy executive director of the Department of Science and Technology ICT Office (DOST-ICTO), led the award ceremony at Manila on Tuesday.
The contest was co-organised by the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), and backed by the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) and the Philippine Society of IT Educators (PSITE).
Titled “Create disruptive technologies, Solve real life problems”, the competition attracted a total of 108 entries. The goal is to inspire development of relevant startups that could help solve some of the country’s social and economic problems.
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TeamseyRoll and two other top winners are now entitled to mentoring and internship opportunities with the competition’s industry collaborators and partners, Huawei Technologies Philippines, Ideaspace Foundation, Microsoft Philippines, HP Enterprise, Intel Philippines, Vibal Group, and IBM Philippines.
TeamseyRoll, however, was also awarded with a two-week immersion programme at the Huawei headquarters in Shenzhen and Beijing in China.
The startup champion described e-waste, which contain toxic chemicals, as “the abomination of the 21st Century” since 50 million tonnes of waste electronics are generated every year around the world and cited reports that it will reach 100 million tonnes every year in the next few years.
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“Improper disposal of waste electronics is a recycling opportunity lost. Almost all electronics contain some form of recyclable material. But even when recycled, a significant amount of electronic material cannot be recovered,” the TeamseyRoll team said.
Among the key features of the e-basura mobile app are tips and guidelines on proper management of e-waste which includes guides for recycling, collecting, maintaining, caring and disposal; map and locator of accredited drop-off sites; also rewards and points that shows a user’s current number of accumulated points from disposals, among others.
The other finalists of the 2015 Philippine Startup Challenge are:
Hardwire (Ateneo de Davao University) – maker of Outlet, a mobile app platform for users to have a more convenient way of finding retail deals and shop locations and for shops to showcase their items.
Tripple J (University of Southeastern PhiTechnology) – pitched Gimix, a mobile app that provides location and preference based information on events in the vicinity.
Navigators (Caraga State University) – Introduced MyBus, a mobile/web application that provides info and status on bus routes, dispatch and availability of seats.
iTeam (University of Cebu) – maker of Farm2Ket, a main campus web platform for Philippine livestock farm to market commerce.
Laagan (Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology) – Developed Navigato, a travelling app that provides concierge and infomration service for travellers providing routes, tourist spots, fees etc.
Book Now (Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology) – Maker of online bus booking application that offer seat reservation, info on bus schedules and marketing and promotion for bus companies.
Bashpal (Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology) – Maker of b2c online app that provides easier access and management of events and possible venues based on specific details of the event.
Gasifanatics (Students of University of Southeastern Philippines) – Made the Gasify App that provides info on location and updated prices for gas stations in your location.
Interfacers (University of Southeastern Philippines) – Introduced an application that enables users to utilize and access computer programs to be used freely using a smartphone thru wireless connection.
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