The recently held SWITCH Singapore 2018 cements South East Asia’s status as an innovation hub. Two more Filipina entrepreneurs and delegates shared their insights from the four-day technology and innovation fiesta.

There was no shortage of immense talent and excellent ideas at the Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology (SWITCH) last September 17-20, 2018 at The Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre. The event showcased a multitude of startups that all aimed at improving and changing the way we work, play, and live.

Two more Filipina entrepreneurs and delegates shared their insights from the four-day technology and innovation fiesta. SWITCH 2018 event featured conferences, exhibitions, workshops, and activities that focused on technology transfer, innovation, tech entrepreneurship, talent development, venture finding and more.

Cultural—And Innovation Melting Pot

“Singapore is really a melting pot, not just of different nationalities, but also of creative startups, angels, incubators, and venture capitalists. Having an event like SWITCH is an opportunity for each of us to showcase what we can offer to South East Asia’s digital economy,” said Abbie Victorino, founder and CEO of StyleGenie, the Philippines’ first styling subscription service.

Abbie’s passion for fashion has led her to create StyleGenie, which provides an online styling and shopping experience for busy men and women who want to up their style game. At SWITCH, Abbie was amazed at the vast number of technologies and services being offered by fellow startups.

“As a startup founder from the Philippines, I realized that we are not far [behind] from our neighbor countries in terms of innovative ideas. We can definitely bring much more to the table, provided [that we get ample] support from local customers, local incubators, and the government,” she added.

Exchanging Stories And Knowledge

Au Soriano, founder of PinoyTravel, the first and biggest online booking service for provincial buses and ferries in the Philippines, was grateful for the opportunity to connect with other startup founders and trade stories with them. “It was reassuring to know that the hardships we have in the Philippines are also present in advanced countries such as Singapore,” she shared.

Through conversations with other delegates, Au picked up more than a few valuable insights that she believes will help her—and other startups—to lead the startup field. “I liked meeting with other company [founders.] I loved ShopBack’s low-cost office, which proved that it’s good to stay cost efficient even with big investments. I also appreciated how Grab shared their business strategy with us during our meeting—it made me realize that I should dream big too,” she said.

Being in Singapore also gave Au the chance to experience the country’s public transportation system, and it inspired her to make transportation easier and more convenient in the Philippines. “[This event] made me even more passionate to play a role in improving the public transportation system in [my own country],” she said.

The recent SWITCH 2018 not only heralded the growing power of the digital economy; it also put Asian innovators and startup leaders in the spotlight, giving them the platform to freely share their expertise with the public.

“South East Asia becomes smaller as we use more of the technologies being offered by startups. I’m positive that we can move faster and further if we support each other, and collaborate with similar-minded companies, whether startups or corporations, in solving real-life problems,” Abbie concluded.

This is Part 3 of our #SWITCHSG2018 article series.
Read Part 1 and Part 2.

We are the leaders, activists, innovators, and visionaries – whether in the public eye or behind the scenes – who are revolutionizing the way people think and live. We are #ConnectedWomen.
Join the Connected Women community now, it’s free!

The post #SWITCHSG2018: Digital Economy Is At The Forefront Of This Year’s SWITCH Event appeared first on Connected Women - Entrepreneurs, Freelancers and Professionals..

On September 17-20, 2018, tech innovators and entrepreneurs flocked to Singapore to showcase their best ideas and innovations at the Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology (SWITCH). The Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre was bursting with feature exhibitions, conferences, workshops, and activities on topics such as open innovation, technology transfer, tech entrepreneurship, venture funding, and talent development.

Connected Women was well-represented in this year’s SWITCH. For Part 2 of our #SWITCHSG2018 article series, five female entrepreneurs shared the best insights they gleaned from the four-day convention. Here’s what they had to say:

The Silicon Valley of South East Asia

Bonnie Factor, co-founder and chief strategist at eCFulfill, was amazed at the support and encouragement that startups received during the event.

“Truly, Singapore is the Silicon Valley of South East Asia. The robust funding for startups is so mature; the support for startups is unmatched. It gave me a global sense of how we as founders of eCFulfill need to grow as leaders as fast as we can to empower our team members that there’s a future for the Philippines in technology.”

eCFulfill is a one-stop-shop for Filipino eCommerce sellers for Amazon & eBay. The company helps local entrepreneurs sell their products through consolidating and consignment of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) products. Their tech solutions solve the problem of expensive international shipping and allow local entrepreneurs to earn more and get their products out into the world.

Startups Can Go Global

Startups are more than just derivatives of mom-and-pop ventures. Cherry Murillon-Cubacub, co-founder, chief financial officer, and business development officer of Antipara Exploration, Inc., discovered that there is a market for everything and that startups can go global.

“[From the SWITCH event,] I was able to validate that we have a huge market overseas and that there were a handful of venture capitalists that were very much interested to be our partner in scaling globally. I was also able to validate that there are a lot of similar startups, but our main advantage is our assessment and data analysis.

“I know [the Philippines] has a long way to go but at least we know that we are at par with other developed countries in terms of computer vision and machine learning.”

Antipara Exploration is an underwater 3D visual mapping and analytics company. Its custom-built underwater towed platform with camera and sonar system provides maps and other relevant information for marine management. Machine vision is employed to analyze the 3D scan and determine habitat classification, coral reef health, and change detection.

Filipinos Are Truly World Class

Leah Rasay, co-founder of Husay Co., sees how Filipinos are world-renowned performing artists. At the SWITCH event, she was inspired to work harder to bring more Filipinos to the global audience.

“The highlight for us was that the attendees we were able to talk to already knew that Filipinos are really talented, especially when it comes to music and dance. We are more inspired to improve our services so that we would be able to connect Filipino performers to more jobs, for both local and global clients.”

Husay Co. highlights Filipino talent by introducing them to a wider audience with the help of technology. It is a performing arts solutions company that enables production professionals and performers to connect for work and impact.

Mom-preneurs Are The Future Of Business

Leezibet Heinzraiden, founder of WhiteIsntBlack Consultancy leverages on the passion, drive, and talent of moms. She believes that moms have great business ideas that can help change the way people work and live.

“WhiteIsntBlack was selected to participate in the world’s first ever startup pitch on the GMAX extreme swing against five other startup teams with equally feisty pitches. Although we didn’t win, we are the runner-up with the most number of viewers on Slush Singapore’s Facebook page.

“My takeaway from this event is that you are a winner no matter what. Leave the negativity behind, move forward with technology, and help change other women’s lives!”

WhiteIsntBlack Consultancy was a runner-up in the 2018 Slush Singapore, held the week prior to the SWITCH event. Slush is the premier tech startup launchpad of South East Asia and helps facilitate founder and investor meetings to build a worldwide startup community.

WhiteIsntBlack Consultancy is a startup platform that trains, coaches, and helps turn women’s business ideas into income with the aid of technology and online marketing. The company primarily works with single moms, stay-at-home moms, and businesswomen looking into a shift of traditional business to online platforms.

Make Artificial Intelligence Work For The Greater Good

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here, and it is here to stay. Charibeth Cheng, head of research at Senti Tech Labs, stresses the importance of AI, and how we should make this technology work for us, and not the other way around.

“While we want to protect our privacy and security, we should also be sensitive to the potential impact artificial intelligence has in solving crucial world problems. It’s not about what AI can do, but what AI should do for humanity. We have a big role in making sure to harness the benefits of this technology, and to protect the current and succeeding generations from the unintended consequences of AI.”

Senti Tech Labs is a text analytics and artificial intelligence company based in the Philippines and specializing in understanding Filipino culture. Its local-first approach provides an in-depth understanding of languages and conversations through contextual and cultural analysis.

This is Part 2 of our #SWITCHSG2018 article series. Read Part 1 and Part 3.

We are the leaders, activists, innovators, and visionaries – whether in the public eye or behind the scenes – who are revolutionising the way people think and live. We are #ConnectedWomen.
Join the Connected Women community now, it’s free!

The post #SWITCHSG2018: 5 Women Entrepreneurs Share Key Takeaways From SWITCH appeared first on Connected Women - Entrepreneurs, Freelancers and Professionals..

The third Women in Tech (Asia) was held in conjunction with the Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology (SWITCH) last September 19, 2018. Two Connected Women members in Singapore share their thoughts on women’s role in the future of technology.

When women help other women, amazing things happen. At the Women in Tech (Asia) conference held September 19, 2018, top female executives from global tech companies shared their wisdom with their fellow women. The Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre was filled with smart, driven, and successful women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, all eager to further their knowledge, build new connections, and inspire one another.

Connected Women members from Singapore are among those fortunate enough to be at the conference. Here, they share the insights they gleaned from the talks and how the event made them truly believe that the future of technology lies with women.

Lead By Example
Women need to walk the talk and be good role models to fellow women. Travel business consultant Jane Lai shared that women truly need to walk the talk and be good role models to fellow women. Like the women who inspired her at the Women In Tech conference, Jane has also served as an inspiration to others, having gone to all seven continents through her company Travel For Good.

Jane also used her passion for travel as a tool to raise cancer awareness through Relay for Life, a community-based event that helps raise funds for cancer research, prevention, and support services. Organized by the Singapore Cancer Society, Relay for Life is an “inspiring overnight event” with three main objectives: To celebrate the lives of people who battled cancer; to remember loved ones lost to the disease; and to fight back by committing to battling the C word.

Talk To Like-Minded Women
Leezibet Heinzraiden, the founder of WhiteIsntBlack Consultancy, a startup platform that trains, coaches, and helps turn ideas into income with the aid of technology and online marketing, was simply amazed to talk to fellow women in tech. “My main interest during the conference was meeting and collaborating with like-minded ladies of the future. It’s elevating to chat with other ladies whose minds are aligned with mine, and bouncing off thoughts on the tech sector,” she said.

Likewise, Jane enjoyed soaking up the positive and encouraging vibe brought about by the women in the conference. “I like attending the Women In Tech conference because I am a woman in tech. It is always inspiring to meet great ladies who empower other women through tech.”

Be An Active Participant In Your Journey
Like a lot of the women at the conference, Jane also followed her heart when she pursued her dream of fulfilling her bucket list. “If you want to start something—a project, a dream—planning is just the beginning. Execution is key to finishing a project or fulfilling a dream. Have an end in mind, but don’t forget the lessons you learned on your life journey. Learn from your mistakes and move forward,” she shared.

Don’t Hold Back
“Ladies, don’t hold back. You never know until you give it a shot—not just any shot, but your best slingshot. Aim for the sky!” says Leezibet, a mumpreneur.

Leezibet, who started her company because of her goal to help as many moms bring their dream jobs to life, was very much inspired by the great interest in startups at the conference. She had even pitched to five investors and got positive responses!

Stand Up To Stand Out
As women in tech, both Jane and Leezibet stepped out of their comfort zones to reach their goals. Traveling the world and raising cancer awareness has greatly expanded Jane’s world. Her experiences have helped her view the world through a different lens and led her to be more resilient. Women need to stand up to stand out and make a lasting impression in the field of technology. Leezibet, who started her business after failing to find a suitable job that suits her daughter’s schedule, agrees. “A ‘no’ is never the ending,” she said.

This is Part 1 of our #SWITCHSG2018 article series. Read Part 2 and Part 3.

We are the leaders, activists, innovators, and visionaries – whether in the public eye or behind the scenes – who are revolutionising the way people think and live. We are #ConnectedWomen.
Join the Connected Women community now, it’s free!

The post #WomenInTechAsia: Women Are The Future Of Technology appeared first on Connected Women - Entrepreneurs, Freelancers and Professionals..