ComSci students place 5th in DICT regional pitching competition for startups

Denise Alvarez, Deenice Hermano, and Joy Tan, third-year BS Computer Science students of Silliman University (SU), placed fifth in the Philippine Startup Challenge 2021 Student Category Region 7 Pitching Competition organized by the Department of Information, Communication, and Technology in Central Visayas, February 19, 2022.

The SU team was among the eight student teams in Central Visayas who got in the regional competition out of 27 teams who applied. 

The team pitched a mobile application called “HelloFarm,” which aimed to help local farmers and agricultural producers by linking them directly to buyers.

The application aimed to serve as an online marketplace where farmers or producers can post their products for sale and be connected to interested buyers from households, resellers, and food businesses. 

The team was supported by the SU Technology Business Incubator (SInergy TBI) as one of its incubatees.

Prof. Janice Antoniette V. Forster, SInergy TBI manager, served as one of the judges along with Anton Gabila, Digital Strategies coordinator of DTI Negros Oriental, and Venus Retuya, IT officer of the Department of Science and Technology Region 7.

The regional champion for Central Visayas, Team Furescue from Cebu Technological University, will advance to the National Finals of the Philippine Startup Challenge 2021 on March 25.

According to the DICT website, the Philippine Startup Challenge 2021 is a startup competition that aims to “encourage and support Filipinos to create innovative and relevant ICT products and services that may potentially develop into viable business ventures as well as solve social problems.”