Villgro Philippines and Creatella Impact Present WE Rise x SheDisrupts Philippines 2022 Demo Day: Showcasing Philippines' 20 Women-Led Impact Startups
Philippines, Philippines, June 11, 2022 --(PR.com)-- Villgro Philippines and Creatella Impact are pleased to announce the winners of the venture competition WE Rise x SheDisrupts Philippines 2022. The competition is supported by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Investing in Women (an initiative of the Australian Government) and UN Women. The 20 successful women-led social startups entered an intensive 3-week pre-acceleration, culminating in a virtual Demo Day on Friday, May 27.
“Advancing women’s entrepreneurship and inclusive ecosystem development is at the core of our work at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. The WE Rise-SDP initiative provides a robust platform for women entrepreneurs in the Philippines to get the financial and non-financial support they need to grow their businesses, while striving for the double bottom line of financial sustainability and social impact. As one of our first initiatives in the Philippines, we are thrilled to be a part of a consortium of like-minded, impact-driven investment and entrepreneurship support partners to co-design WE Rise-SDP 2022.
"It was a sincere honour and pleasure to have the opportunity to work with an amazing group of talented, growth and impact-focused women Founders and their teams. You are an inspiration to us all! We believe and hope the strong community of mentors, investors, and corporate and public partners that have come together for WE Rise-SDP will continue to support all the women-led businesses to grow. These are exciting times, and we look forward to deepening our partnerships in the Philippines,” said Ayaka Matsuno, Director, Gender Investment and Innovation Program, The Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
The 20 selected startups were selected after a 2-round, fully virtual venture competition during which 38 startups pitched in front of expert mentors and judges. All participating startups received 150 hours of mentorship with experienced entrepreneurs, digital specialists and investors from the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Europe and USA.
“The quality and diversity of the social impact startups from The Philippines have been remarkable. It's an honour to be part of the mentoring journey. Witnessing the passion and tenacity of the women founders who dream big and execute daringly is empowering. There is no doubt these changemakers will positively impact the industry and ecosystem,” said Donna Daritan, International Partner, World Business Angels Investment Forum, and one of the mentors in the program.
“Our dual objectives are to cover the SDGs gap and to bridge the gender gap, to connect founders to the world of knowledge related to designing, building and running social impact businesses, enhancing leadership competencies of their leaders. We have been impressed with the quality of work of startups, problems they resolve and the impact they intend to achieve via their businesses in the Philippines and will continuously support this great cohort to raise funds and grow their businesses,” said Antonio Vigilante, Chairperson, Board of Directors of Creatella Impact.
In addition to direct access to the pre-acceleration and the Demo Day, the 20 startups will receive perks such as a greenlane entry to Techstars, support and credits from AWS EdStart, fee-free processing with Stripe, a 2-hour design workshop with Styliff Tech, up to 82,000 USD savings with Hubspot, 50,000 USD worth of Segment credits, 10,000 USD worth of Freshwork credit, up to 20,000 USD credits from Creatella, and the opportunity to receive cash prizes of 10,000 USD.
“We are delighted that WE Rise x SheDisrupts Philippines 2022 has surfaced high potential women-led startups. The curriculum for the programme was designed to offer maximum support to the entrepreneurs and the intense mentoring sessions have been extremely fruitful in providing the 20 startups reassess their successes and strengthen their systems as they grow their enterprises. As we approach Demo Day, the excitement is palpable as the teams prepare to present their pitches to the judges utilizing the learnings and intense pitching practices that the programme has shared with them.” -said Priya Thachadi, Co-Founder & CEO, Villgro Philippines
The winners have gone through an intense pre-acceleration programme with its rich curriculum including (but not limited to) 6 key modules: Impact Measurement and Management, Gender Lens, Technology and Venture Building, Business Model Validation, Go-To Market Strategy and Investment Readiness. Through keynotes, workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions, participants have refined their business and pitching toolbox.
“The mentorship and insightful advice we received during the WE Rise x SheDisrupts program have been extremely helpful. The program's organizers, partners and network of mentors have given us an opportunity to connect with potential impact investors and other purpose-driven organizations who support women-led businesses. Also grateful to have met and spent time with other innovative Filipino startups who are serious about building a great company and determined to make an impact,” said Jessica de Mesa, Co-founder & CEO, Kindred.
The program culminated in the virtual Demo Day on Friday, May 27, where all 20 startups pitched in front of 180 investors and other ecosystem players.
“Advancing women’s entrepreneurship and inclusive ecosystem development is at the core of our work at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. The WE Rise-SDP initiative provides a robust platform for women entrepreneurs in the Philippines to get the financial and non-financial support they need to grow their businesses, while striving for the double bottom line of financial sustainability and social impact. As one of our first initiatives in the Philippines, we are thrilled to be a part of a consortium of like-minded, impact-driven investment and entrepreneurship support partners to co-design WE Rise-SDP 2022.
"It was a sincere honour and pleasure to have the opportunity to work with an amazing group of talented, growth and impact-focused women Founders and their teams. You are an inspiration to us all! We believe and hope the strong community of mentors, investors, and corporate and public partners that have come together for WE Rise-SDP will continue to support all the women-led businesses to grow. These are exciting times, and we look forward to deepening our partnerships in the Philippines,” said Ayaka Matsuno, Director, Gender Investment and Innovation Program, The Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
The 20 selected startups were selected after a 2-round, fully virtual venture competition during which 38 startups pitched in front of expert mentors and judges. All participating startups received 150 hours of mentorship with experienced entrepreneurs, digital specialists and investors from the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Europe and USA.
“The quality and diversity of the social impact startups from The Philippines have been remarkable. It's an honour to be part of the mentoring journey. Witnessing the passion and tenacity of the women founders who dream big and execute daringly is empowering. There is no doubt these changemakers will positively impact the industry and ecosystem,” said Donna Daritan, International Partner, World Business Angels Investment Forum, and one of the mentors in the program.
“Our dual objectives are to cover the SDGs gap and to bridge the gender gap, to connect founders to the world of knowledge related to designing, building and running social impact businesses, enhancing leadership competencies of their leaders. We have been impressed with the quality of work of startups, problems they resolve and the impact they intend to achieve via their businesses in the Philippines and will continuously support this great cohort to raise funds and grow their businesses,” said Antonio Vigilante, Chairperson, Board of Directors of Creatella Impact.
In addition to direct access to the pre-acceleration and the Demo Day, the 20 startups will receive perks such as a greenlane entry to Techstars, support and credits from AWS EdStart, fee-free processing with Stripe, a 2-hour design workshop with Styliff Tech, up to 82,000 USD savings with Hubspot, 50,000 USD worth of Segment credits, 10,000 USD worth of Freshwork credit, up to 20,000 USD credits from Creatella, and the opportunity to receive cash prizes of 10,000 USD.
“We are delighted that WE Rise x SheDisrupts Philippines 2022 has surfaced high potential women-led startups. The curriculum for the programme was designed to offer maximum support to the entrepreneurs and the intense mentoring sessions have been extremely fruitful in providing the 20 startups reassess their successes and strengthen their systems as they grow their enterprises. As we approach Demo Day, the excitement is palpable as the teams prepare to present their pitches to the judges utilizing the learnings and intense pitching practices that the programme has shared with them.” -said Priya Thachadi, Co-Founder & CEO, Villgro Philippines
The winners have gone through an intense pre-acceleration programme with its rich curriculum including (but not limited to) 6 key modules: Impact Measurement and Management, Gender Lens, Technology and Venture Building, Business Model Validation, Go-To Market Strategy and Investment Readiness. Through keynotes, workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions, participants have refined their business and pitching toolbox.
“The mentorship and insightful advice we received during the WE Rise x SheDisrupts program have been extremely helpful. The program's organizers, partners and network of mentors have given us an opportunity to connect with potential impact investors and other purpose-driven organizations who support women-led businesses. Also grateful to have met and spent time with other innovative Filipino startups who are serious about building a great company and determined to make an impact,” said Jessica de Mesa, Co-founder & CEO, Kindred.
The program culminated in the virtual Demo Day on Friday, May 27, where all 20 startups pitched in front of 180 investors and other ecosystem players.
Contact
Creatella Impact
Andrea Jelicic
+381658506535
creatella.org
Andrea Jelicic
+381658506535
creatella.org
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