by Rose Alviar | Aug 19, 2014 | Headlines
More investments in local startups and stronger support for the technology community as a whole are expected to come in as Geeks on a Beach (GOAB), a unique technology startup conference that started in 2013, flies off to the historic island of Mactan in Cebu for its 2014 edition slated for August.
Co-presented by Smart Bro, Smart DevNet and IdeaSpace Foundation, Inc. (IdeaSpace), this year’s GOAB will see close to 300 international startup founders, technopreneurs, venture capitalists, developers, and industry experts and organizer TechTalks.ph hopes to surpass the successes of last year’s inaugural event held at Boracay Island in Aklan.
“It’s been a great year for startups so far, and we look forward to a better and more exciting year for the local community with this year’s ‘Geeks on a Beach’ conference in Cebu,” said Tina Amper, founder of TechTalks.ph and co-organizer of this year’s GOAB, which will be held at the Movenpick Hotel on August 21 to 22.
“There were a lot of success stories from last year’s conference, and we hope to replicate those successes this year by linking promising local startups with the right investors, and vice versa,” Amper added.
One of these startup success stories is real-estate portal ZipMatch.com, co-founded by John Dang and Chow Paredes, who met some of their investors while networking during the first GOAB conference last year. This resulted in a seed funding round led by global investors IMJ Fenox and 500 Startups and included local funds such as Hatchd Digital and IdeaSpace.
“Local startups are on the rise as a key sector pushing fast economic growth in the Philippines, and we are fully committed to supporting events that offer a venue for the development of this community,” added Earl Martin Valencia, President and Co-Founder of IdeaSpace, one of the main co-presentors of this year’s conference.
Powerhouse guests, speakers
Personalities gracing GOAB this year include tech and startup luminaries from Silicon Valley, and prominent SEA startup stars from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and other areas.
They include 500 Startup venture partner Khailee Ng, Dolphin Browser VP of int’l business and dev’t Edith Yeung, e27 co-founder and CEO Mohan Belani, Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Office (DOST-ICTO) deputy executive director Mon Ibrahim, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, and Gwendolyn Regina Tan of TechinAsia.
Also speaking are World Startup Report and World Startup Wiki founder Bowei Gai, IdeaSpace President Earl Valencia, Kickstart Ventures President Minette Navarette, Singapore-based IMJ Investment Partners Director Koichi Saito, Amarit Charoenphan of HUBBA Thailand, Richard Min of Fashion Tech Incubator South Korea, and Jim Ayson of SMART DevNet.
GOAB will also feature Paul Rivera of Kalibrr, Stephen Jagger of PayrollHero.com, Jay Fajardo of Roofcamp Launchgarage, Jason Torres of Proudcloud, Creative Director Patrick Cabral, Designer Camy Francisco-Cabral, Jack Madrid of Openovate Labs, John Dang and Chow Paredes of ZipMatch.com, Oliver Segovia of AVA, Rico Sta Cruz of Nadarei, Inc., Janette Toral of DigitalFilipino.com, Richard Min of Seoul Space, Ron Hose of Coins.ph, Tomas Forgac of CoinOfSale.com, and Sam Kaddoura of BuyBitcoin.ph.
GOAB is organized by TechTalks.ph, co-presented by the IdeaSpace, SMART, and SMART Bro, co-organized by the DOST-ICTO, powered by Sym.ph, branding by HappyGaraje, and PR and event management by PRWorks.
For more information on registration, accommodations, and early-bird rates for the Geeks on a Beach conference in Cebu, visit www.geeksonabeach.com or contact hello@geeksonabeach.com. [END]
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Media Inquiries:
Doris Mongaya
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+63 32 416 7159
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by Rose Alviar | Aug 19, 2014 | Headlines
Due to popular demand, the organizers of the Geeks on a Beach (GOAB) are offering a speed dating event for startups during the international tech event which will be held in a 5-star resort-hotel in Mactan Island this August 21 and 22.
“The GOAB speed dating will involve 10 startup teams meeting quickly with 10 investors and mentors such as
Earl Valencia, President of IdeaSpace.ph (of Smart Communications) and Khailee Ng of 500 startups
for five minutes each,” said Tina Amper, founder of TechTalks.ph which is the event’s lead organizer.
“The event offers a brief opportunity for startups or innovation-driven enterprises (IDE) to pitch their business for investment or mentorship opportunities as well as for investors to find investment prospects,” said Amper.
“This is in line with the Geeks on a Beach motto ‘work hard play harder’ which mean we’ll be mixing serious sessions on significant tech issues with some fun,” she added.
Startups from all over the country with existing products and services are encouraged to apply for the speed dating event during the Geeks on a Beach confab. Ten (10) lucky startups will be selected.
Applications can be submitted until August 12. Winning teams will be announced on August 13. The 10 selected startups will get 10 pairs of free 2Go boat travel vouchers (Manila-Cebu or Bohol-Cebu round-trip) and a 25 percent discount on GOAB registration fee.
According to Amper, the speed dating activity is just one of many fun happenings during the Geeks on a Beach confab, including laidback discussions and fun networking parties amidst sumptuous Cebuano food and the pristine beaches of Mactan.
Building on the successful first staging in Boracay September last year, Geeks on a Beach promises to be better and more productive with select expert-speakers, new and more exciting activities, and additional networking opportunities.
Personalities gracing GOAB this year include prominent IT and startup personalities from Silicon Valley, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and other parts of the world.
They include Charles A. Lim, Executive Vice President, Head for Wireless Consumer Business Smart Communications, 500 Startup venture partner Khailee Ng, Dolphin Browser VP of int’l business and dev’t Edith Yeung, e27 co-founder and CEO Mohan Belani, Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Office (DOST-ICTO) deputy executive director Mon Ibrahim, Rappler Chief Editor Maria Ressa, and Gwendolyn Tan of TechinAsia.
Also speaking are World Startup Report founder Bowei Gai, IdeaSpace President Earl Valencia, Kickstart Ventures President Minette Navarette, Singapore-based IMJ Investment Partners Director Koichi Saito, Amarit Charoenphan of HUBBA Thailand, Richard Min of Fashion Tech Incubator South Korea, and Paul Pajo of SMART DevNet.
GOAB will also feature Paul Rivera of Kalibrr, Stephen Jagger of PayrollHero.com, Jay Fajardo of Roofcamp Launchgarage, Jason Torres of Proudcloud, Creative Director Patrick Cabral, Designer, Camy Francisco-Cabral, Jack Madrid of Openovate Labs, John Dang and Chow Paredes of ZipMatch.com, Oliver Segovia of AVA, Rico Sta Cruz Open-source Developer and Janette Toral of DigitalFilipino.com.
GOAB is organized by TechTalks.ph, co-presented by the IdeaSpace, SMART, and SMART Bro, co-organized by the DOST-ICTO, powered by Sym.ph, branding by HappyGaraje, and PR and event management by PRWorks. Platinum sponsors are Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, Official Accommodation Partner is Airbnb, E-Ticketing Pratner is Eventbrite, 2GO as official sea travel partner, silver sponsors are Islands Souvenirs, Infocomm Investments and Sky Cable, Bronze Sponsors, STAC-Silicon Valley, Alquemie Partners, Kickstart Ventures, NG Khai Development Corporation, Arcanys, Freelancer and Caresharing. Institutional partners are PSIA, Brain Gain Network, NICP, CebuInIT, CEDF-IT, GDAP, DCOM and DevCon. Media partners are Asian Journal Publications, Balikbayan Magazine, E27, SunStar, Cebu Daily News, TechInAsia, WebGeek, NewsDesk Asia, InnoPub Media, iNew Media, Alcordo Advertising, Third Team Media, Our Awesome Planet, Zero Three Two, Vigattin Radio, TenMinutes.ph, Pinoy Great Deals, Crowdsourcing Week, Everything Cebu, Innovation is Everywhere, Stuff Magazine, and Geeks in Cambodia. GOAB is supported by Plug and Play Tech Center, Mynimo, Kuyi Mobile, GT Cosmetics, Balamban Liempo, Cliptec, Pascual Laboratories, Dranix, Prifoods, and Istorya.net.
For more information on registration and accommodations, visit www.geeksonabeach.com, follow them on Twitter and Facebook @geeksonabeach.com, or email hello@geeksonabeach.com.
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Media Inquiries:
Doris Isubal-Mongaya
doris.mongaya@prworksph.com
+63917 791 9545
by Rose Alviar | Aug 19, 2014 | Headlines
For its second year, the Geeks on a Beach (GOAB) international tech conference seeks to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit in the local IT and startup community, associates of the GOAB advisory council said in a meeting last month.
Composed of local business and tech luminaries chosen for their experience and expertise in their respective fields, the GOAB advisory council was formed by GOAB lead organizer TechTalks.ph to give advice on issues that have a significant impact on the event.
An estimated 300 participants will be joining GOAB, the biggest event in the country dedicated to startups or innovation-driven web-based companies.
Geeks on a Beach promises to bring together some of the biggest names of the startup, tech, and design world from different countries in a yet to be disclosed five-star resort-hotel here in Cebu come August 22 to 23. It was first organized in Boracay Island September last year.
Nurturing entrepreneurial skills
“There is a need to assess the potentials for tech entrepreneurs in the country to create more startup success stories. Training and development of startups should then be towards gearing them where there is a potential,” said Jay Aldeguer, CEO of the Island Groups and member of the GOAB advisory council.
He said that events like GOAB can help nurture a set of entrepreneurial skills that startup founders need to move their products forward. He stressed the need for budding startups to focus on the business model, how do they sustain it, how do they break the market, etc.
“Just because you can come up with a good tech idea or product doesn’t make you an instant entrepreneur. Many are very methodological about processing their ideas. But that’s it. The pitch is the end game when in fact it’s just the beginning,” said Aldeguer.
“There is a huge gap between the technical knowhow and talents possessed by tech startup founders and the business skills and other related requisites for them to actually succeed,” said Dave Overton, founder of Symph, a design and development studio in Cebu.
“This is where our initiative comes in. Startup events like GOAB will help them erase that gap by exposing them to best practices and helping them network with the people behind some of the biggest startup success stories from all over world,” added Overton.
Creating local heroes
Wilson Ng, Ng Khai Development Co. CEO and founder, said that efforts should be made to support local startups to make it big in the tech world. He said that creating local heroes can provide the impetus to jumpstart the local community.
“The Silicon Valley has many success stories of startups that really made it big like Steve Jobs of Apple to Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. If a Pinoy can be successful in the local tech scene, then his or her story can inspire more people to do the same,” said Ng.
According to TechTalks.ph founder Tina Amper, around 300 world-renowned startup founders, tech entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts from 17 countries attended last year’s GOAB and linked up many promising startups with investors and companies.
“Our goal is really to nurture the environment to have more successful startups. GOAB gained a lot of attention last year with majority of the startup community in the country present. We are confident to do more this year,” said Amper.
One of the success stories from last year’s GOAB is ZipMatch.com, a real estate property listing site co-founded by Chow Paredes and John Dang, which closed a deal with international investors IMJ Fenox and 500 Startups and other local funders.
GOAB is organized by TechTalks.ph, co-presented by the IdeaSpace, SMART, and SMART Bro, co-organized by the DOST-ICTO, powered by Sym.ph, branding by HappyGaraje, and PR and event management by PRWorks.
For more information on registration and accommodations, visit www.geeksonabeach.com, follow them on Twitter and Facebook @geeksonabeach.com, or email hello@geeksonabeach.com.
Media Inquiries:
Doris Isubal-Mongaya
doris.mongaya@prworksph.com
+63917 791 9545
by Rose Alviar | Aug 19, 2014 | Headlines
A number of leading ICT experts and tech startups from across the Philippines and the world will converge in Cebu this year for the staging of the second Geeks on a Beach (GOAB2) convention come August.
Coming off a very successful debut in Boracay in September 2013, GOAB2 will be held in the country’s fastest growing commercial and tech hub outside Metro Manila.
Cebu is not only home to flourishing startups but also boasts of rich cultural heritage and some of the world’s best beaches which is just a walk away from the GOAB2 venue at Movenpick Resort and Spa Cebu in Mactan Island, Cebu.
Sponsored by SMART DevNet and IdeaSpace, the 2014 GOAB confab on August 21-22 is organized by TechTalks.ph and the Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Office (DOST-ICTO) in partnership with Sym.ph, HappyGaraje, and PRWorks Vis-Min.
SMART, the country’s leading wireless service provider, and IdeaSpace, the largest privately-funded incubator in the Philippines, were both instrumental in shaping the first GOAB in Boracay.
The DOST-ICTO has made strategic interventions to support the growth of the ICT industry in the regions, including its role in last year’s auspicious inaugural staging of GOAB.
“We are very fortunate to have SMART backing us up along with the government, seasoned entrepreneurs, businesses, and partners,” said Tina Amper, the brains behind GOAB and Startup Weekend Cebu.
Through its developer community program Smart Developer Network (SMART DevNet), SMART has been actively organizing and sponsoring events catering to mobile apps developers and technopreneurs ever since it founded SMART DevNet in early 2012.
“It has been our commitment to spearhead and support events that would broaden the reach and influence of Philippine startups to more regions in the country,” said Earl Martin Valencia, IdeaSpace president.
GOAB2 promises to be a bigger and grander event as attendance is expected to surpass last year’s turnout with the confirmed arrival of more big names in the tech industry.
“The attendance of these influential people will surely generate interest among technopreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs,” said Amper. “I don’t want to be very optimistic, but we will have more people participating this year. That’s for certain.”
Amper said those who have confirmed their attendance in GOAB 2 are Bowei Gai of World Startup Report, Maria Ressa of Rappler, Jason Torres of Proudcloud, and DOST-ICTO deputy executive director Monchito Ibrahim.
Other industry leaders expected to arrive for the gathering are Khailee Ng of 500 Startups, fashion technology accelerator Richard Min, Jack Madrid of Openovate Labs, Jay Fajardo of Roofcamp, Paul Rivera of Kalibrr, Stephen Jagger of PayrollHero.com, creative director Patrick Cabral, designer and artist Camy Francisco-Cabral, Koichi Saito of IMJ Investment Partners, and John Dang and Chow Paredes of ZipMatch.
These resource people, according to Amper, will talk about the challenges and opportunities of startups, women in technology, and investing in social entrepreneurship, among many other significant issues.
Topics also included in the agenda for discussion in GOAB 2 are “Uncut: a realistic review of Philippine startups and the road ahead,” “Recognizing Standout Startups and Apps,” and “Beyond ASEAN 2015: Opportunities and Challenges for Startup Communities.”
Sponsors of GOAB2 are Kickstart Ventures, STAC-Silicon Valley, Greenworld Led Solutions, Crowdsourcing Week, Mynimo, DeVCon, GTCosmetics Manufacturing, Dranix Distributors Inc., Balamban Liempo, Kublai Khan Mongolian Restaurant, 2GO Travel – the official sea travel partner and Airbnb – the official accommodation partner of GOAB2.
Media partners of this year’s GOAB are Asian Journal Publications, Auza.net, Balikbayan Magazine, WebGeek, iNew Media.org, InnoPub Media, Istorya.net, Rappler, Third Team Media, Vigattin Radio, ZeroThreeTwo.com, Our Awesome Planet, TechinAsia, Alcordo Advertising, and tenminutes.ph.
Media Inquiries:
Doris Mongaya
+63 917 791 9545
prworks2003@gmail.com
by Rose Alviar | Aug 19, 2014 | Headlines
The Cebu business community will ultimately benefit from the success of Geeks on a Beach (GOAB), said organizer TechTalks.ph as it calls for broader support and more sponsors for the second edition of the global tech conference which is set in Mactan Island, Cebu this August.
“GOAB is about helping Filipino startups, what we call innovation-driven enterprises (IDE) which are fast becoming the next driver of economic development. Tech startup companies or IDE eventually become successes like Instagram, skype or viber. The event’s success would benefit the entire community,” said TechTalks.ph founder Tina Amper.
“We are inviting the local tech and business sectors to help make this year’s Geeks on a Beach a bigger success as the event’s success would ultimately be to everyone’s advantage,” said Amper.
First held in Boracay in September last year, GOAB gathered all the major players in the Philippine startup scene together with the world’s leading names in the field of startups and technology in a distinct event that combined both work and play.
Amper said that GOAB gives the perfect opportunity for homegrown startups to network with potential investors and business partners who can help fund their concepts.
“The event’s biggest value is networking. GOAB’s relaxed set-up allows anybody from ordinary students to startup founders to investors to reach everybody else in the tech community,” said Amper.
At the same time Amper explained that GOAB provides a venue for the more established businesses to scout for new talents or IT solutions that their companies need.
Gathering close to 300 world-renowned startup founders, tech entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts from 17 countries, last year’s GOAB resulted in many success stories in terms of linking promising startups with investors and companies.
One of the fruits of last year’s event is ZipMatch.com, a real estate property listing site co-founded by Chow Paredes and John Dang, which closed a deal with international investors IMJ Fenox and 500 Startups as well as local funders like IdeaSpace and Hatchd Digital.
According to Amper, in spite of the fact that the local startup community is still in the infancy stage interest is already picking up with more local investors and businesses supporting the sector.
The Cebu Chamber of Commerce of Industry included the fourth Startup Weekend Cebu, a smaller startup event also initiated by TechTalks.ph, in the rosters of activities for last July’s Cebu Business Month celebration.
The Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO) also donated P450,000 as support for this year’s GOAB. The office gave P300,000 last year.
This year’s GOAB, planned at a 5-star Resort Hotel in Mactan Island this August 21 and 22, expects to gather around 300 participants including tech and startup personalities from Silicon Valley, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and other places.
Speaking in this year’s event are 500 Startup venture partner Khailee Ng, Dolphin Browser VP of int’l business and dev’t Edith Yeung, e27 co-founder and CEO Mohan Belani, Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Office (DOST-ICTO) deputy executive director Mon Ibrahim, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, and Gwendolyn Regina Tan of TechinAsia.
Also gracing the event are World Startup Report and World Startup Wiki founder Bowei Gai, IdeaSpace President Earl Valencia, Kickstart Ventures President Minette Navarette, Singapore-based IMJ Investment Partners Director Koichi Saito, Amarit Charoenphan of HUBBA Thailand, Richard Min of Fashion Tech Incubator South Korea, and
Kuo-Yi Lim of Monk’s Hill Ventures.
There is ongoing 30% discount until July 20, 2014 with event registration now only P6,900. Included in this registration, participants can avail of P14,000 worth of tech items and services, including a P2,500 discount coupon from Airbnb.com for housing, Microsoft Bizspark / Azure Cloud Credits worth $5,000 for 30 Philippine startups, and web credits and free one month developer support worth $149 from Amazon Web Services.
GOAB is organized by TechTalks.ph, co-presented by the IdeaSpace, SMART, and SMART Bro, co-organized by the DOST-ICTO, powered by Sym.ph, branding by HappyGaraje, and PR and event management by PRWorks.
For more information on registration and accommodations, visit www.geeksonabeach.com, follow them on Twitter and Facebook @geeksonabeach.com, or email hello@geeksonabeach.com.
Media Inquiries:
Doris Isubal-Mongaya
doris.mongaya@prworksph.com
+63917 791 9545
by admin | Aug 4, 2014 | Headlines, National News
ONLINE OAV for 2016: Drilon
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon urged today the Commission on Election (Comelec) to already make a reality in the 2016 national elections what overseas Filipino dream about – to be able to register and vote online under the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) Act of 2003 which he principally authored.
“It is high time that the Comelec adopt all the necessary technologies that would empower the about 10 to 12 million overseas Filipinos to use the internet to register and vote in 2016 and onwards, without leaving their jobsites or residences abroad,” stressed Drilon.
Drilon expressed his own frustration about the very low turnout of OAV registrants more so of actual voters despite the huge funds and enormous efforts poured in all past elections.
He pointed out the perennial complaints from OFW groups, as well as from Filipino immigrants, seafarers and Filipino students abroad qualified to vote, that travelling far to OAV centers in Philippine embassies and consulates have dsicouraged many of them from participating in electing the country’s leaders in the past.
“Overseas Filipinos risk their lives even in strife-torn countries like Libya now not only for their families but also to prop up our economy with their over US$20 billion in remittances each year. We should make it easier for them to vote and to participate in all democratic processes by utilizing the power of the internet. Technological advances should already be utilized to surmount all overseas voting challenges in the past. The bigger voice of overseas Filipinos must be heard now!”
“Online absentee registration and voting is already practiced in about 20 countries, including the US, France, Germany, Italy and Australia. So, I see no reason anymore why it can’t be done in the Philippines as well,” said Drilon, who added that the security of online registration and voting can be addressed through the use of sophisticated data encryption and other available technologies.
The present modes of registration and voting under the OAV law (Republic Act 9189 as amended by RA 10590) – through mail or personal appearance at the Philippine embassies or consulates abroad – limit overseas voter registration and actual voting.
In fact, only 2.5 percent or a little over 200,000 of the estimated 10-12 million overseas Filipinos (including OFWs, dual citizens, seafarers, etc.) have cast their votes in past national elections.
While Filipinos overseas in countries like Hong Kong or Singapore have easy access to OAV centers, the same is not true for their counterparts in many countries in the Middle East and even in the US and Europe where Philippine consulates and embassies may be located far away from many worksites or residences.
The Comelec Advisory Council (CAC) recommended “the use of new technologies such as, but not limited to, Online Voting and recent innovations in Direct Electronic Recording (DRE) equipment.”
“If we are to have online registration and voting in 2016, then we must already do the spadework now, starting with looking at the different technologies being utilized by countries where Internet voting is already practiced and implement it right now in time for 2016,” said Drilon.
According to Drilon, in France alone, more than 1.5 million absentee voters cast their votes through the Internet, which means it is doable.
Registration under the OAV has been low that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has issued Foreign Service Circular No. 16-2014 instructing Philippine Foreign Service posts to determine if overseas Filipinos applying for passport renewal are registered under the OAV. Despite such effort, registration turnout was dismal and voting percentage did not improve significantly.
“If the (passport) applicant is not registered, the post shall register him or her as an overseas voter first before proceeding with the renewal of the passport. This procedure applies to all Filipino immigrants, overseas workers, seafarers, dual citizens and qualified students studying abroad,” said the DFA in its circular.
Drilon has called on the CAC and the Comelec to work closely to ensure that online registration and voting be implemented soonest. He likewise assured them of the Senate’s unequivocal support to jumpstart the plan.
“The Senate is behind the Comelec in making sure that there are no more disenfranchised overseas Pinoys come 2016. Let’s make it happen!” said Drilon.
