Globe Telecom has engaged the local startup community to be part of Globe Future Makers, a social innovation program which seeks to adopt game-changing digital solutions to address various causes of poverty in the country in line with the company’s sustainability commitment to create positive societal impact.
Startup founders and members met with Globe representatives at the recent staging of Kickstart Venture Inc.’s signature startup community mixer Raid The Fridge, a monthly open networking event that gathers startup founders for opportunities to learn, engage, or collaborate with investors, developers, corporations, the government and even with media.
During the presentation, Globe invited the startups to participate in the program and be part in bringing about positive changes especially to the marginalized sector of society as a response to UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 9 which calls for investment in infrastructure and innovation to find lasting solutions to both economic and environmental challenges.
“Poverty, the lack of access to quality health care and education, the negative impact of climate change to the environment, and the displacement of communities due to armed conflict remain society’s most pressing and pervasive issues. These are the issues that the Globe Future Makers Program wants to address. By offering efficient, sustainable solutions for the bottom and middle of the pyramid, startups can make massive impact to help drive social development in the Philippines,” said Minette Navarrete, president of Kickstart, the country’s leading venture capital firm and wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe.
“Globe and Kickstart believe that systemic solutions are possible! Startups focused on solving social problems can use technology to make impact at scale, and the Globe Future Makers Program is intended to support social innovation, so that we can build a better future for everyone,” said Navarrete.
The program is open to anyone with a working prototype, preferably a pilot test done with potential beneficiaries. Entries should clearly articulate how technology is being used to optimize the social impact of the organization on the four focus areas, namely healthcare, learning and education, climate change, and peace and order.
Application will be accepted until May 7, 2017, after which, selection and evaluation of all entries will be conducted.
The top five teams will be provided with expert mentorship from Globe, Ashoka Philippines and Singtel Group.
Kickstart, Globe Telecom’s corporate venture capital arm, will provide mentorship from the Kickstart Portfolio Development team who will facilitate access to relevant startup workshops or clinics, introductions to potential partners, mentors, advisers, and investors via Kickstart’s broad network, and free Semaphore web-to-SMS API credits.
The support from Kickstart will allow the top five teams to build their products faster, and launch sooner to benefit the communities they aim to serve.