QBO awarded 10 start-ups for their sustainability strategies to adapt with COVID-19

With help from Youth Business International (YBI) and Google.org, QBO Innovation Hub revealed the ten winners of the RESQUE: Startups vs. COVID-19 Competition.

Virtual Demo Day among RESQUE finalists

QBO supports start-up companies amidst pandemic

The RESQUE: Startups vs. COVID-19 is a nationwide contest that intense to support start-up with their plans to sustain their company during the pandemic. Director of QBO Katrina Chan said that the selection process was cutthroat since they received more than 100 entries in just a few weeks. She added, 

We believe that Filipino startups will play a key role in the Philippines' post-pandemic recovery, and ultimately, our goal with this program is to deliver the immediate support our startups need to navigate the crisis and thrive. We're thrilled to showcase the top 20 finalists and unveil the 10 winners, who are all demonstrating incredible solutions and pivots, proving that Filipino innovation and resilience can triumph.

QBO held its first virtual Demo Day last July 30 to announce the winners. Each winner received a cash prize worth PHP 100,000 that can fund their initiatives

The winners were announced at QBO’s first-ever Virtual Demo Day last July 30, taking home PHP 100,000 each to further amplify their COVID-19 initiatives. Here are the following start-ups that won the competition: Agro-DigitalPH (Agriculture), Eskwelabs (EdTech), Filipina Homebased Moms (Education and Job Matching), Futuristic Aviation and Maritime Enterprise, Inc. (Tech), NextPay (Finance), Rumarocket (Recruitment and Tech), SeeYouDoc (Health and Medical Care), SukiPlus (Finance and Lending), Twala (Tech), and Zagana (e-Commerce and Agriculture).

Aside from these winners, QBO granted PHP 50,000 to AccessiWheels as a  Social Impact Award. The Social Impact Award recognizes startups that promote a socially inclusive solution at the time of the pandemic. AccessiWheels was able to bag the award since it links people who have mobility problems with well-trained drivers and accessible vehicles. 

To learn more about QBO Innovation Hub, you can visit their official website.