Cebuanos Designing for Social Impact Through Himo: Humanitarian Makeathon 2022

 “Himo 2022: Humanitarian Makeathon”, a 3-day workshop aiming to address humanitarian issues in Cebu through human-centered design, was launched last October 10 by the Department of Trade and Industry - Cebu, Field Ready Philippines, and Fablab UP Cebu. This is the second makeathon organized between Fablab UP Cebu and DTI Cebu, which held their last makeathon in 2017 through the Precious Plastic Cebu Makeathon.

On Oct. 28, 29, and Nov. 5, Himo will bring together creative professionals and enthusiasts at Fablab UP Cebu for design thinking and prototyping sessions focused on social impact. The makeathon’s goal is to equip Cebuano makers with the right knowledge in responding to community issues in the fields of education, sustainability and PWD accessibility. 

The first day will cover a morning discussion on the design ethics and humanitarian principles for community engagement, followed by field assessments to identified communities in the afternoon. Day 2 and 3 will cover design thinking and rapid prototyping sessions between organized teams, with feedback provided by the leaders of the identified community and mentors in the humanitarian sector. On the last day’s presentation, all teams will present their design solutions prototyped at the fablab. The identified top three teams will be given a monetary and fablab grant to pursue more developments for their product and deploy it to their chosen community.

Mentorship will be handled by the organizers from Field Ready Philippines and Fablab UP Cebu. Field Ready is anon-profit, global humanitarian aid and development, non-governmental organization founded in 2013 that helps provide critical items and training to people when and where they need them. Fablab UP Cebu is the city’s first makerspace that aims to equip makers, academe, professionals, MSMEs, and the general public with democratic access to digital fabrication equipment (3D printers, laser cutter, CNC milling machines, etc.) access and training. 

Fablab UP Cebu worked with Field Ready PH and Light of Hope PH last December 2021 to quickly build and deploy portable solar charging stations for communities affected by typhoon Odette, an exercise in rapid prototyping design interventions that they hope to replicate with Himo. “With Field Ready’s goal on localization of aid supplies, working with Fablab UP Cebu was crucial in the product development and small scale manufacturing of our Humanitarian Response work”, said Charles Barrete, Innovation Lead for Field Ready Philippines.

Himo 2022 is a free event that is open to everyone passionate about designing for social impact. The organizers of Himo will shortlist 20 eligible creatives to join the makeathon. Interested applicants can register on or before October 24, 2022 by going to tinyurl.com/himo2022. 

For more information, please contact Fablab UP Cebu through their email at fablab.upebu@up.edu.ph, or visit their Facebook account: facebook.com/fablabupcebu.

 

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Coffee meets caramel in Goldilocks’ newest premium greeting cake

 

Make any moment deliciously memorable with this Coffee Caramel Cake!

Having a slice of cake with your favorite flavors combined is like heaven on earth. Why settle with one flavor when you can treat yourself with the sweet combination of two – Coffee + Caramel -- as Goldilocks presents its newest premium greeting cake!

Perfect for celebrating birthdays or gifting to those who simply love coffee and caramel, the new Goldilocks Coffee Caramel Cake offers a luscious fusion of flavors and great value for money. Make it an occasion to remember where everyone gets a filling and satisfying slice of this hefty 9”Rd cake that can serve 12 people for only P649.

Any celebration, big or small, becomes even more enjoyable with the new Goldilocks Coffee Caramel Cake. This latest mocha cake creation is set to wow not only the taste buds, for it can wake all your other senses too...wait ‘til you smell its irresistible scent of coffee and caramel.

When it’s time to dig in, share with them the memorable moment of slicing through the rich and thick coating that encases levels of fluffy mocha-flavored layers. In between are delightful creams and filling, while fun and flavorful mocha buttercream icing rounds out the premium greeting cake design.

Remember that choosing the best premium greeting cake does not have to be a choice between one flavor or another. You can always get the best of both worlds from the new Goldilocks Coffee Caramel Cake, which is sure to satisfy plenty of your loved ones at an affordable price!

To #CelebrateWithGoldilocks and its new Coffee Caramel Cake, visit a Goldilocks store near you or order online through www.goldilocksldelivery.ph. Follow Goldilocks PH on Facebookand Instagram for the latest updates.

Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance Launches a New Line of Brightening Products to Add to your #RadianceRoutine

 

 With   the   ever-evolving   demands   and   needs   of   our   skin,   one   thing   remains   the   same:consistency is key,  especially in routines and habits. Being consistent with your#RadianceRoutine   and   the   products   and   ingredients   you   use   can   go   a   long   way   inmaintaining your skin health. It can even transform your skin to make it look even brighter. To mark its 75th year of catering to the needs of sensitive skin, Dermatologist-recommendedskincare brand Cetaphil continues to forge its mark on the skincare industry by introducinginnovative  brightening  products  with   ingredients   approved   by   Dermatologists  through   itsBright Healthy Radiance line. Formulated with GentleBright Technology - a combination ofSea   Daffodil and Niacinamide that   visibly   corrects   dark   spots   without   irritation   boostsbrightness, and evens skin tone - the latest line from Cetaphil introduces more brighteningproducts to the fold that will magnify skin’s brightness now powered by ingredients such asAdvanced Peptide and Antioxidant C. With these upgraded ingredients combined with the effective GentleBright Technology, thenewest products under the Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance line promises to be the gentlestway to brighten skin in just 14 days and lets skinthusiasts continue being #BrightAboutSkin: For CleansingCetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance Gentle Renewing CleanserStart   your   #RadianceRoutine   with  the  new  Gentle  Renewing   Cleanser.   This   3-in-1brightening cleanser offers gentle exfoliation using Jojoba beads infused with Vitamin E toremove pollution and impurities, instantly brightening and improving skin texture.

Investors Summit to promote QC as top business destination

 

The highly-anticipated “Quezon City Investors Summit: Future Ready” will promote Quezon City as an ideal destination for investors and businesses as they continue to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The summit will put the spotlight on Quezon City as top business destination for local and international investors. We hope to attract many investors who can help further stimulate the economy and provide employment for QCitizens,” Mayor Belmonte said.

Scheduled on Oct. 7 at Novotel Manila at the Araneta City, the event will engage investors, business leaders, business associations, chambers of commerce, foreign dignitaries, and Quezon City government officials in discussions on key areas for investments, public-private partnerships and opportunities for expansion and growth. 

“Quezon City is future ready, ready for investors, ready to build a better and more prosperous city so that our QCitizens will be able to enjoy the resulting benefits,” said Margarita Santos, head of the Business Permits and Licensing Department (BPLD) of Quezon City.

Aside from its strategic location, Quezon City also has the homegrown QC E-Services platform that makes business processes such as permit and license applications easy for investors, according to Santos.

“The LGU has automated and digitized 95 percent of the city’s services through its QC E-Services platform. This means potential investors can apply for business permits online,” said Santos, adding that the “permit will even be delivered to the applicant’s business or home address free of charge.”

As a matter of principle, the Quezon City government constantly consults and coordinates with the business sector, which has enabled both sectors to build a relationship of mutual respect and support. “This continued dialogue with the private sector helps all stakeholders to address various challenges and issues, and to think up ways to create a free, fair and fertile business environment,” Perry Dominguez, head of the Local Economic Investment Promotions Office, points out.

The local government is known as an ardent supporter of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), providing them with incentives from tax breaks, tax payment extensions to changing the validity of business permits and licenses to help businesses especially during the pandemic.

Soon, Quezon City will launch its Start-Up QC program to further strengthen and develop the city’s start-up business ecosystem. “This program is calibrated to provide financial gains to innovative, creative and promising business models that can help provide solutions and recommendations to social issues and challenges,” Jay Gatmaitan, Investment Affairs Office head, explained.

The city’s commitment to good governance saw results when the Quezon City government received its second straight unqualified opinion from the Commission on Audit for its annual audit report for the year 2021. An unqualified opinion is the highest audit rating that can be rendered by COA to a government agency. 

Recognized for its quality public service, Quezon City has increased its social services budget over the past three years, enabling the local government to provide livelihood opportunities and create more jobs, support education, and provide permanent housing, better healthcare and social safety nets, among others.

Earlier, Margie Santos, head of the summit’s organizing committee, said this gathering of business leaders aims to build investor confidence in Quezon City; generate investments and public-private partnerships and make Quezon City the top of mind preferred investment destination.

Angkas: PH poised to leap forward in tech and start-up space in 2022

 IMMAP DigiCon’s co-presenter, Angkas, draws the roadmap for the tech-enabled industries and players in the coming years.

Manila, Philippines - Despite the global pandemic, the Philippines is poised to be one of five ASEAN countries to become tech powerhouses in the next fifteen years, according to the Center for Economics Business Research (CEBR).

Angkas CEO George Royeca, believes the country is ready for a big leap forward in the tech and startup sectors. These industries and their continuous growth in recent years will be the primary focus of this year’s IMMAP DigiCon Valley 2022, which will be co-presented by Angkas, the leading motorcycle taxi and delivery platform.

Text Box: Angkas CEO George Royeca“While the pandemic has been the worst global crisis of the millennium undeniably opened new avenues for rapid growth in the country, particularly in the tech sector. Overnight, e-commerce, online payments, e-wallets, telemedicine, online gig employment, digital banks as well as delivery and logistics services experienced exponential growth which then had to be supported by faster internet speeds,” points out Royeca.

“The pandemic and the restricted mobility it necessitated primed the market in terms of tech literacy and a willingness to adopt tech-based solutions. There are products and services the market is ready for now that would not have been viable pre-pandemic, and that might have otherwise taken another 5-10 years for the country to be ready for,” adds Royeca. “We have had, and continue to have an ideal and unprecedented climate for both developing and funding tech startups. The kind of businesses that offer innovative products and services we couldn’t have even imagined pre-pandemic,” he concludes.

The road less trafficked

Angkas was itself an innovation, far more unconventional than it seems on the surface. Motorcycle taxis were already in wide use for public transport all over the region at the time of Angkas’ inception in 2015. Despite the crippling traffic in Metro Manila and its staggering economic cost, motorcycle taxis were not a solution being considered by anyone at the time, because motorcycles had an appalling safety record.

The Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System (MMARAS) Traffic Accident report for 2015 indicated that motorcycle accidents comprised 39.6% of all vehicular accidents and 33.6% of all fatal accidents in Metro Manila. In each case they were by far the single largest contributors. Filipino motorcycle riders were regarded as too undisciplined for such a service to be reasonably safe.

Angkas’ innovation was in actually believing that with training, motivation and support, Filipinos could be the backbone of a safe and professionalized app-enabled motorcycle taxi service. “We shoulder the training of all rider applicants, then we carefully select only the top 30%.  We also hold regular company events that serve as refreshers, and venues for more training in soft skills, and even things like anti-sexual harassment education,” explains Royeca. “The result is that after literally millions of rides booked, our safety record is 99.997%,” he concludes.

Sense of purpose, grit resilience

“I think the number one thing that potential startups should begin with is seeing the bigger picture: are you solving a real problem?” asks Royeca. “Any business venture is always going have a money-making aspect, but in this day and age, it is businesses that have an innate sense of purpose and that offer real solutions to real problems that are embraced by the public,” Royeca points out,

Royeca had specific advice to would-be startups on failure: “Don’t be afraid of failure or adversity, these build grit. As long as you are imbued with a sense of purpose, you will overcome failure and adversity and come out stronger, and with more grit.”

In Angkas short history, they were ordered to cease operations twice, their rider pool was capped, and just when they seemed in the clear, the pandemic hit. Showing true resilience, it was then that Angkas launched a courier and buying assistant service, allowing more people to do errands and business safely from home. Angkas also formed a partnership with the Red Cross to assist with the delivery, and administration of COVID-19 test kits. When it became reasonably safe to do so, Angkas also offered free rides to medical frontliners.

Co-creation Breeds Innovation

Community building begins when everyone contributes for the welfare of everyone, and that is exactly what resonated with Angkas to sign up and be a co-presenter for this year’s IMMAP DigiCon Valley 2022, one of the most anticipated digital conferences in the industry which gathers professionals from marketing, advertising, and digital sectors to hear and learn from world-renowned and celebrated local keynote speakers.

Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) is an organization that works toward educating and providing the necessary digital tools for advertising and integrated marketing professionals to make better communication decisions. One such effort is the yearly DigiCon.

Royeca explains, “When you have a business that serves many, it is impossible to innovate without co-creation. Angkas would not have been possible without the coming together of technology innovations, government regulators, customers, and of course our rider partners, to create a “winnovation”, an innovation in which everyone has a stake, and in which everybody wins.”

From L to R: Brian Go (Angkas Chief Marketing Officer), Denise Haak (IMMAP DigiCon Co-Chair), Janelle Barretto (IMMAP DigiCon Ways & Means Head), and Trish Elamparo-Esteban (IMMAP DigiCon Co-Chair).

After two years of purely virtual connections, this year’s IMMAP DigiCon Valley 2022 will finally bring back face-to-face networking through the DigiCon After-Hours, which will be held during the evenings across the city, promising to provide cocktails and entertainment, and allow delegates to physically reconnect with other industry players.

“I think what Angkas is excited about is this live interaction; a lot of the best collaborations and partnerships happen because of these more spontaneous, in-person things, and human interaction is what makes all the creativity and innovation grow more,” muses Royeca.

As co-presentor for this year’s IMMAP DigiCon Valley 2022, Angkas hopes that this can be a great model to induce new SMEs in the tech and startup sector, while also introducing a community mindset that can hopefully solve daily problems for Filipinos.

DigiCon Valley 2022 is happening on October 10-14 from 9AM to 1PM PST using ViVYD platform, with all new tracks that tackle the different stages of innovation: Launchpad, Hypergrowth, Breakthrough, and Enterprise.

This year’s prestigious keynote speakers include one of the most influential women in the world and Huffington Post founder, Arianna Huffington; Rappler Founder and the first Filipino Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maria Ressa; internationally acclaimed marketing expert and academic, Mark Ritson; co-founder of Character ventures and Design Sprint inventor, Jake Knapp; and Global CMO of Dole Sunshine Company, Rupen Desai.

Buy tickets now and learn more about IMMAP DigiCon Valley 2022 at www.digicon.com.ph and follow their social pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

IMMAP DigiCon Valley 2022 is co-presented by Angkas, and would like to thank Platinum Sponsors: Manulife Philippines, Share Treats, and TikTok; Gold Sponsors: Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government, Grab Ads, Kroma Entertainment, McDonald’s Philippines and Meta Philippines; and Silver Sponsors: Digital Turbine, Hepmil Philippines, and Metrobank.

A special thanks to IMMAP’s event partners: Creators and Influencers of the Philippines (CICP), Endeavor, and Kickstart Ventures.

Be an IMMAP Member today! To know more about IMMAP, please visit: www.immap.com.ph or contact us at:

connect@immap.com.ph

SMS/Viber (0917) 6310206 / (0918) 577 2357.

Shopee announces biggest brands sale of the year with the 10.10 Brands Festival

 

Look forward to mas mura brand deals up to 50% off, back-to-back Super Brand Days, and new brand ambassador Toni Gonzaga at the 10.10 Brands Festival from October 1 to 12

MANILA, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 - Shopee is collaborating with the country’s leading brands to bring Filipinos bigger, better, and mas mura deals on brand favorites with the 10.10 Brands Festival. From October 1 to 12, official brand stores are working with Shopee to offer eager shoppers 50% off brand deals, 15% off daily discounts, and free shipping vouchers with no minimum spend. 

The 10.10 Brands Festival is the second in Shopee’s series of year-end shopping events, giving Filipinos more exciting deals to look forward to and get a head start on their holiday shopping. Martin Yu, Director at Shopee Philippines  enthused, “The 10.10 Brands Festival continues to enliven the promise of offering mas mura prices to Filipino shoppers. We have worked closely with our partner brands in bringing the best of brand deals to create a more meaningful year-end shopping experience.”



Toni Gonzaga joins the Shopee Fam as newest brand ambassador

To drum up anticipation for its 10.10 sale, Shopee welcomesToni Gonzaga as their newest brand ambassador. Dubbed the Ultimate Multimedia Star, shoppers can look forward to watching the talented performer belt out the “Mas Mura sa Shopee” jingle as she stars in Shopee’s latest TV commercial. Fans will also be treated to entertaining content when they visit the app and Shopee’s official accounts on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Exciting, mas mura brand deals from October 1 to 12

The 10.10 festivities begin as early as October 1, with a wide assortment of official brand stores on Shopee offering exciting discounts for shoppers. The sale kicks off with back-to-back Super Brand Days from October 2 to 9, where users can enjoy up to 50% off on products from leading brands in fashion, electronics, beauty, and home & family essentials.

Unbeatable offers from top brands also await early-bird shoppers with the Big Midnight Sale from 12 midnight to 2 AM on October 10. Users can get a jumpstart on their holiday shopping with limited deals on bestselling wearable devices like the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live and OPPO Band B1, as well as trendy fashion and lifestyle items such as the Crocs Crocband™ Flip and Insulated Water Bottle from the widely popular brand Aquaflask.

Shoppers can also expect more exciting deals from other leading brands including: Tiny Buds, realme, Platinum Karaoke, INSPI, Johnson & Johnson, Huggies Philippines, Uni-Care, Cetaphil, Garnier, Unilever, Enfagrow, Nestlé, Lovito, SACE LADY, adidas, Infinix, GameXtreme, TP-Link, Ace Hardware, and Huawei. 

The Big Midnight Sale also allows new parents to enjoy big savings with ₱1 deals on these Pampers Baby Dry Taped Diapers. Meanwhile, beauty lovers can score fan favorites like the Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick and this Issy & Co. Brow Refiner, both at 50% off.

Download the Shopee app and discover mas mura deals from leading brands at the 10.10 Brands Festival. Head on to Shopee’s 10.10 page to know more about the latest promos or share your memorable 10.10 moments with the hashtag #ShopeePH1010BrandsFestival.

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About Shopee
Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia & Taiwan. Shopee promotes an inclusive and sustainable digital ecosystem by enabling businesses to digitalize and grow their online presence, helping more people access and benefit from digital services, and uplifting local communities.

Shopee offers an easy, secure, and engaging experience that is enjoyed by millions of people daily. Shopee is also a key contributor to the region’s digital economy with a firm commitment to helping homegrown brands and entrepreneurs succeed in e-commerce.

Shopee is part of Sea Limited (NYSE: SE), a leading global consumer internet company. Sea’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology through its three core businesses: Shopee, Garena and SeaMoney.

*Kantar Nationwide-Urban Quanti-Survey of Online Shoppers using Shopping Apps, June 2022.