TECH PLANTER(en)

Judges from 2019 Season

• Dr. Yukihiro MaruFounder and CEO, Leave a Nest Group

  profile

  Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. is a leading knowledge based platform company in Japan. The company is comprised of Mastersʼ and Doctorate degree holders. Leave a Nest works on extensive projects relating to Science and Technology. Dr. Maru has great experience in supporting startups. One of the startups he was supporting called Euglena Co., Ltd. was listed in the First section of Tokyo Stock exchange. Heʼ s expert in advising young entrepreneur in business development and venture spirit.

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  Mr. Masahito YanoProject Manager of New Business Development Division, Mitsui Chemicals Singapore R&D Centre, Pte. Ltd.

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  Mr. Yano had served as a project coordinator to Japanese S&T funding agency for 7 years in Singapore and joined Mitsui Chemicals in 2017. Currently he is working at Singapore’s R&D Centre to explore new business opportunities based on R&D in Asia Pacific Region. One of his current challenges is to transform the R&D centre to an innovation engine.

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  Mr. Sophian Abdul RahmanCo-Founder and CEO Delightex Pte Ltd.

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  Mr. Sophian Abdul Rahman is the CEO and co-founder of Delightex Pte Ltd, a research and business development firm that seeks out innovative ways of capturing Delightful Moments. Before heading up Delightex, Sophian had served as the Director of Strategic Planning, Business Development and Mergers & Acquisitions at SGX-listed Cordlife Group Limited, as well as the CEO of its Bursa Malaysia-listed subsidiary Stemlife Berhad. His other experiences include a myriad number of roles in Singapore’s CapitaLand Group and Singapore Government’s Ministry of Trade & Industry agencies. Sophian graduated with a Master of Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College, London.

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  Mr. Kazuhiro ObaraForbes JAPAN Official Columnist

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  Kazuhiro Obara dotted emoji in 1st mobile platform, i-mode in Japan and pursue emotional internet platforms in Google, viber, McKinsey. Lives on Bali and works remotely for JP national AI research center and startups. His book on IT principles is the best-seller at Kindle. Kazuhiro also contributes to creative communities in Japan, being a speaker curation director in Slash Asia, partnership director in Unreasonable Japan, sr. advisor in Burning man Japan, Google-side director TED@Tokyo audition

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  Mr. Artie LopezCo-Founder & Startup Coach, Brainsparks

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  Mr. Lopez is a start-up coach, and co-founder of Brainsparks, the first and only "founder-focused" incubator in the Philippines. Brainsparks’ vision is to "Turn Dreamers into Founders". He has over a decade of experience in the tech industry and is a passionate advocate of using technology and innovation to improve people’ s lives. Through Brainsparks, #StartupCoachArtie has supported countless startups develop their ideas, accelerate their growth, and raise seed funding from investors globally. In his spare time, he likes to mentor small businesses and social enterprises that support local communities.

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  Mr. Jacinto Asuncion Jr.Business Development Manager, DOST-UP Enterprise Center for Technoprenuership

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  Jacinto Asuncion Jr. or better known as “Jhaze Asuncion” in the industry is currently the Biz Dev Lead of DOST-UPSCALE Innovation Hub of the University of the Philippines - Diliman. An entrepreneur and a startup Co-Founder himself, a mentor in the ecosystem who help launch a number of ventures. He connects the industry challenges to the academe capabilities and government resources assistance. Prior to this startup world, his corporate experiences include international business development for interactive online education services and outsourcing. He also came from the Filipino Food Exports Industry with 45 countries worldwide market. A graduate of BSBA- Major in Exports Management of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in Polytechnic University of the Philippines. His research interests are Waste to Energy, R&D Commercialisation, Fintech-ICOs and Food Innovations

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  Mr. John Carlo PullanMarketing Communications Strategist, IdeaSpace Foundation, Inc.

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  Currently, the marketing communications lead for Ideaspace Foundation. Co-founder and former VP of Brand and Digital Marketing at Fetch Valet. Worked as a marketer for different multinationals and advertising agencies in Manila.

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  Mr. Marrione Pol B. CamachoManaging Director, Nexus Innovation Labs at De La Salle Lipa

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  De La Salle Lipa is one of the leading educational institutions in the CALABARZON region and Nexus Innovation Labs is De La Salle Lipa’s hub of innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship. Marrione has experience in both the corporate and non-profit sectors and is passionate about helping social enterprises scale their ideas and ultimately, their impact. His specialization includes business development, strategy and corporate communications.

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  Ms. Katrina Rausa ChanDirector, QBO Innovation Hub

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  Kat serves as the Director of QBO, a Philippine innovation hub and startup platform. QBO is the first of its kind public-private partnership initiative in the country specifically geared to accelerate the growth of Philippine startup ecosystem and support startup ventures. Kat previously served as Head of Growth and Strategy at IdeaSpace, the Philippines’ largest private startup accelerator, and draws on prior experience working with senior management in corporate development, capital markets and process engineering positions.Kat completed her undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon University, obtaining a B.Sc in Materials Science and Engineering, with a double major in Business Administration. Kat is a Filipina millennial that advocates for spurring innovation and technopreneurship as an engine for driving economic growth and global competitiveness in emerging economies.

Finalists from 2019 Season

• Veer Immersive Technologies

  Training and education in aviation using VR/AR technology

• FusionTech

  Entertaining and interactive learning using augmented reality application

• DWARM Technologies

  A combination of Artificial Intelligence, LoRaWAN, and Swarm Technology in drone technology.

• Wela School Systems

  AI assisted student assessment tool

• Quixens

  Portable detector for microbial contaminants.

• Sigurisda

  Fish freshness detector to determine freshness of fish

• KomeTech

  InfraDry-rice mechanical dryer

• BIOTECH Colorant Team

  Colorant technology developed using local strain of Monascus, a GRAS microorganism

• nanolabLRC

  Nanomaterials electrode for electrochemical energy storage applications.

• GMO

  Non-invasive blood glucose level measuring device

• Bac Off

  Antimicrobial agent to preserve rubber latex

• PolyGone Recyclers

  Corrosion-inhibiting product derived from plastic sachets.