Echelon 2014 comes to the Philippines again, and Kickstart Ventures, Inc. reprises its sponsorship role, throwing its support behind Asia’s largest tech conference and the cornerstone of the region’s startup community.
“By helping startups get onto the Echelon main stage in Singapore, Kickstart will be giving startups a chance to get the attention of decision makers in the international technology industry. Startup founders get to meet investors and business leaders, pitch for commercial deals, raise the funding to grow their business, receive valuable insights from speakers and mentors, forge partnerships with outstanding businesses, and even scout for talent,” said Minette Navarrete, President of Kickstart.
Kickstart, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, is the Philippine Satellite Partner of Echelon 2014. Satellites will be held in 9 other Asian countries, namely, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Korea, and Vietnam. The Satellite is the preliminary stage of Echelon where shortlisted tech startups pitch and get judged by key investors and community leaders. There will be one winner for each city; all the winners then progress to compete in the grand event in Singapore.
For the Philippine leg, over 100 startups submitted applications this year, and ten participated in the pitching competition on March 15 at MINT College, Taguig City. On the Philippine Satellite judging panel are Jojo Flores, Co-Founder and VP Operations for Plug and Play Tech Center; Nix Nolledo, President and Chairman of mobile VAS provider Xurpas, Inc.; Martin Pascual, Managing Director of Nest Capital; Paul Rivera, Founder and CEO of Kalibrr; and Thaddeus Koh, COO and Co-Founder of e27.
“We are looking for the region’s most promising startup for Echelon and we would like to increase the participation of local startups from the Philippines. Every year, from March to June, we visit over 10 countries listening to startup pitches. We then select the best 50 startups to exhibit in Echelon’s Startup Marketplace with 10 specially handpicked companies to pitch on the main stage to over 1,500 tech delegates,” said Mohan Belani, Co-founder and CEO, e27, organizer of the activity.
Aside from the pitches, the Echelon 2014 event in Singapore, to be held on June 10-11, will also feature industry leaders, leading investors and business mentors who will share their experience and knowledge on trends in digital, mobile, the internet, and where Asia’s tech industry is headed. Among the speakers who will talk about technology and entrepreneurship are Abrar Hussain, Managing Director of Elixir Capital; Yasuhiko Yurimoto, President and CEO of Global Brain Corporation; Aung Kyaw moe, Founder and Group CEO of 2C2P; Edward Keonwoo Lee, Head of International Business of VCNC; and Belani.
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ABOUT KICKSTART
Kickstart is an incubator with a US$2.4 Million investment fund which helps startups operating in the Philippines to build robust businesses and technical foundations, and to scale. Kickstart does this by putting big company resources – – capital, facilities, expertise, and business connections – – behind the startups that it funds so they can launch faster and achieve scale and profitability sooner.
Kickstart was incorporated in March 2012 to serve as Globe Telecom’s wholly-owned incubator and investment firm with a focus on Philippine-based digital startups. As a strategic early-stage investor, Kickstart is frequently a startup’s first institutional investor, and a support system that provides not only capital but the other critical elements for execution: facilities, training and mentorship, and market access.
For more information, please contact:
Yoly C. Crisanto
Head, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom, Inc.
Email Address: [email protected]
Globe Press Room: www.globe.com.ph/press-room
Twitter: @talk2GLOBE │ Facebook: www.facebook.com/globeph
