30 July 2021, Manila – Farm Box, a start-up that encourages individual investment to benefit local farmers, emerged the Hack-it-On grand winner at Globe Business’ virtual hackathon competition, the company’s largest initiative in celebration of the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) National ICT Month. Globe Business announced the winners at a virtual awards ceremony together with their partners, the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), the Philippine Computer Society (PCS), and Globe’s innovative developer community Globe Labs.
The Farm Box team, composed of John Lester Mendoza, John Christopher Francisco, Anjenette Lopez and Felix Veroya, proposed an innovative business plan around the incorporation of Globe Labs’ Charging API, SMS API, and Rewards API to increase customer engagement and retention. Their project was judged the most outstanding invention for its ease of use, market viability and social impact.
“This competition has definitely helped us unlock a new level of creativity in coming up with solutions to uplift our local economy through Globe Business’ API Solutions. We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to have worked with key leaders in the IT industry. These innovative solutions will help us engage more people to help our local farmers and growers,” said John Lester Mendoza, Co-Founder and CEO of Farm Box.
With the theme “Hack-It-On. Own the Power of API Innovation,” Globe Business’ month-long event pitted 50 business start-ups from the IT sector in friendly competition. Through the month-long journey, participants confronted key pain points and critical challenges typically faced by our local MSMEs today as they devised groundbreaking solutions that leveraged Globe Labs APIs.
A trusted partner in digital transformation, Globe’s MSME arm held the hackathon competition to recognize the IT and Business Process Management industry as an enabler of micro, small and medium enterprises.
“We recognize the indispensable role that the IT industry plays in driving the competitiveness and continued digital evolution of our local businesses. Through this event, we hope that we have inspired more businesses by demonstrating what can be achieved by leveraging technological solutions to bring their ideas to life and achieve their business objectives,” said Nicola Ebrada, InfoComm Industry Marketing Lead, Globe Business MSME Group.
The virtual event kicked off on June 18 with enablement workshops for participating teams to give them insights and the know-how for their proposed solutions. The teams were given until June 29 to submit their business plan development.
From the 50 teams that participated in the competition, five teams were selected to demonstrate their solutions during the second leg of the competition on July 23: Team Evocodes, Team Sakap, Team Shop Na Dito, and Team Vioxys.
Finalists were selected based on business feasibility, tech viability, social impact and usage of Globe Labs API.
Farm Box, the grand winner in the virtual competition, brought home P200,000 worth of prizes, including a P100,000 cash prize awarded through GCash, tickets to the PSIA Softcon 2021, and 50% discount on the PCS Information Security certification training. As finalists, they also received GMovies vouchers, Globe myBusiness Prepaid Internet Kits, and gift boxes from Globe Business. All the participants received e-certificates of participation.
Relive the exciting Hack-It-On moments by watching the Kick-Off Event and Awards Ceremony on Globe Business’ Facebook page.
To beef up its support to the IT-BPM industry, Globe Business has also launched special offerings for customers who subscribed to Globe Labs API solutions for a minimum contract value. To know more about Globe Business’ enabling offers for local SMEs, visit https://go.mybusinessacademy.ph/ICTMonthOffers.
The economy has seen the rapid adoption of digital technologies among businesses to survive and thrive through the pandemic. Recognizing the need to fill the gap, the Philippine government has undertaken several initiatives to further strengthen the digital capabilities of local SMEs.
“We at the DICT continuously build strong Filipino start-up communities. We want to uplift the technology and business ecosystem of the country and present an opportunity to highlight the best of what the Philippine start-ups and ecosystem has to offer,” shared Emmy Lou Delfin, Director of the ICT Industry Development Bureau of the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT).
In support of this year’s National ICT Month, spearheaded by the DICT with the theme “Onwards Through ICT: Building a Stronger Philippine Digital Economy,” Globe Business launched several initiatives aimed at helping micro, small and medium enterprises fast-track digital transformation.
“As a staunch supporter of the ICT sector in the Philippines and the ICT Month, Globe Business believes in creating greater awareness on its valuable contribution to the economy and how digital transformation can fuel its growth,” said Nicola Ebrada, Industry Lead for InfoComm, Globe Business MSME Group.
Check out the Hack-it-on Kick-off event held last June 18 here:
Globe Business’ biggest initiative for the ICT Month is a virtual hackathon competition themed “Hack-It-On. Own the Power of API Innovation,” which puts the spotlight on the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry as an enabler of MSMEs.
The hackathon brought together talented individuals in information technology and business start-ups to create cutting-edge digital solutions that will empower businesses to thrive today and accelerate the shift towards a connected tomorrow using Globe Labs API solutions.
Participating teams went through enablement workshops to gain insights and techniques useful for their proposed apps or programs. The team with the most innovative digital solution will be awarded P200,000-worth of prizes from Globe, at the awarding ceremony on July 29.
As part of Globe Business’ ICT Month offerings, customers who subscribe to Globe Labs API solutions for a minimum contract value will be able to choose from the following complimentary gifts: an 8th Generation iPad, up to P50,000 worth of GCash Credits, or Paid Training amounting to P30,000.
With Globe Business, MSMEs have five options of API solutions to choose from:
Meanwhile, to help enterprises operate more efficiently despite current restrictions, Globe Business also launched several special offers to make remote working more productive.
Companies can choose from a range of subscriptions such as myBiz Data Plan 999, a 20GB data plan inclusive of a pocket wifi or a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0; Google Workspace, which includes productivity apps like Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Meet; Cloud Payroll, to automate salary computations, reduce errors, and track employee hours accurately; and many more.
Learn more about the InfoComm ICT month offers and activities at https://go.mybusinessacademy.ph/InfoCommICTMonth.
Digital transformation is crucial in driving enhanced customer experience, helping brands rise to the top in this increasingly competitive landscape.
In the third installment of its masterclass series developed to help small businesses succeed, Globe Business Academy focused on Application Programming Interface (API), a software interface that allows communication between two applications, in order to create connected customer experiences. Did you know that an API enables companies to send branded messages to large groups of recipients? It can also create and administer rewards programs for customers, and provide accessible payment options, among others.
Sharing their expertise and experience at the masterclass were professionals from the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), the InfoComm Technology Association of the Philippines (ITAP), and Globe Labs, the innovative developer arm of Globe.
To put things in perspective, ITAP President Carlo Subido highlighted how the continuing disruption of the digital economy has spawned the emergence of new technologies and shifted the battle from size to speed, making it crucial for businesses to swiftly go digital and embrace new tools to help them stay ahead of the curve.
“In order to accelerate your digital future, we need to start by innovating with application transformation and it’s no longer the big beating the small but the fast beating the slow,” said Subido.
He explained that the first step towards digital transformation is switching the business to the cloud and using APIs in order to streamline IT operations. The more modern infrastructure will help businesses deliver better and more delightful customer experiences where they are served faster and more efficiently.
PSIA President Jonathan de Luzuriaga also underscored the need to create fast and high-quality software for use by the growing number of internet users globally, citing that over 316 million more people joined the online community from January 2020 to January this year.
A big percentage of internet users are spending more time on mobile applications—from streaming videos and music, communicating through messaging services, playing video games, and creating and uploading videos.
To be able to reach this growing online community faster, Luzuriaga said that businesses need to utilize APIs to create the right applications.
“One of the reasons why we have a strong partnership with Globe and some of their subsidiaries is because they offer APIs that make our lives in the software development sector so much easier,” said de Luzuriaga, who is also the CEO of local software company Spring Valley Tech Corporation, which is poised to become the Philippines’ Silicon Valley.
“Utilizing APIs for software development creates the space for businesses to focus on what really matters the most: interacting and listening to customers, and making changes that would make customers happy,” he emphasized.
Giving a run-through of Globe Labs’ suite of APIs, Chris Cheng, Vice President for Products and Technology of Globe’s Digital Solutions Group, described how each of the solutions can help increase customer reach, improve customer engagement and streamline business operations using real-world examples.
Globe Labs solutions include SMS API, Load API, Charging API, Sponsored Access and Voice API—all of which are also being utilized by Globe for its own operations and services, including its public hotspot service GoWiFi, its movie ticketing app GMovies, and IVES, its automated voice calling platform.
“The Globe Labs APIs enable our customers to develop creative solutions to drive business growth. We encourage businesses to get started with APIs by registering for a developer account at www.globelabs.com.ph,” said Cheng.
The Globe Business Academy Masterclass aims to increase the know-how and competencies of IT influencers and business owners who have basic experience with ICT solutions. Other masterclasses lined up in the coming months until September include Data Privacy and Security, Cloud Security, and Marketing and CRM.
To learn more about Globe Business’ API, connectivity, and suite of digital solutions, sign-up for a free digital consultation with an Account Manager here: http://glbe.co/MCOffers3.
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