ECOTHON IN THE PHILLIPINES 2024

The third competition of the Ecothon 2024 series took place in August - September with the enthusiastic participation of 15 start-ups with innovative business ideas aiming at facilitating sustainable consumption and production (SCP) as well as a transition to circular economy not only in the Philippines but also in the ASEAN region.

Following the success of Ecothon in Lao PDR and Malaysia, the third competition of Ecothon 2024 series was held in the Philippines by the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) and the ASEM SMEs Eco-Innovation Center (ASEIC) with the support of the Department of Trade and Industry and Brainsparks Inc. The competition commenced with an online training course specifically designed for participants in Ecothon in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, the majority of whom was in the prototyping stage of their businesses. More than 110 representatives from competing teams across the three countries participated in the 3-day training course which covered a broad spectrum of essential areas of sustainable entrepreneurship, including business planning, business model development, impact investment, IR pitching, and more.

Group Training for Participants in Ecothon in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia 2024

After the training course, each of the 15 shortlisted teams from Ecothon in the Philippines joined one-on-one mentoring and coaching sessions with local experts. These sessions were designed to support them in developing their business plans, pitching decks and pitching skills. Based on the teams’ assignments submitted as part of the online training course and their attendance in the mentoring and coaching sessions, 13 teams with great determination to tackle both social and environmental problems not only in the Philippines but also in the region were selected to the Demo Day on September 10, where they pitched their polished-up business development strategies to international and local experts, start-ups accelerators and investors.

Pili AdheSeal convincingly won the first prize of Ecothon in the Philippines 2024 with their sustainable sealant and adhesive product derived from waste materials. The second prize went to Farmtri who creates a trading platform for farmers and B2C food businesses. The third prize was awarded to LITHOS Manufacturing, which produces natural and modified mineral products using clay nanotechnology. Together with winners of Ecothon in Lao PDR and Malaysia, the winners from the Philippines will join HSF’s Think Global Sustainability Network delegation at the ASEAN Circular Economy Forum in Bangkok in October 2024. They will also compete in the second screening round of the KOREA-ASEAN Business Model Competition in the same month.

First Prize Winner of Ecothon in the Philippines 2024

HSF’s support for Ecothon is part of the Think Global Sustainability Network under HSF’s Global Project on Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change (GMACC).