by Adriel Nisperos
Culminating their journey in the Social Impact Accelerator (SIA), six social entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to investors and partners at the Innovation for Social Impact Partnership (ISIP) Social Enterprise Showcase held virtually last June 04, 2021.
The Social Impact Accelerator is one of the key strategies of the ISIP project that aims to equip social enterprises with relevant knowledge and skills that can help them become investment-ready. The Showcase, ISIP’s version of a demo day, is one of the ways we link social enterprises to potential investors and funders. The third batch of social enterprises that went through the program are:
- Agro-DigitalPH is a social enterprise that helps minimize the layers in the value chain by providing value chain solutions for cooperatives & small farmer organizations through their digital platform.
- Mayani is an agri-tech startup that uses a digital platform to connect local organic farmers with buyers (retail and commercial), optimizing the agri-supply chain by cutting off the middlemen.
- Naturelink is a social enterprise that supports communities by buying poultry from the community members or employing them as production staff, providing them alternative sources of income.
- OrangeHub is an online outsourcing tech company that provides virtual assistant services from e-commerce and marketing services to payroll and program management.
- Panublix is an online textile sourcing platform and marketplace that connects Philippine weavers and garment makers in the fashion and design industry.
- Roots Collective is a one-stop shop for social, local, and community-based products in the Philippines. Created in response to the need for startup local and social entrepreneurs to have a physical and social community.
The social enterprises received needs-based technical support and mentorship from top industry leaders and entrepreneurs from the combined network of PhilDev, UNDP Philippines, and the Australian Embassy in the Philippines. Support like these assist enterprises towards becoming more globally competitive, attractive to investors, and resilient to challenges such as the pandemic.
In his closing remarks, PhilDev Chairman Paco Sandejas noted the crucial role of collaboration in strengthening the local startup ecosystem, “It is through our joint efforts as stakeholders in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the government, private sector, international development organizations, and the academe, to continue supporting social enterprises that will help us eradicate poverty altogether.”
Among the partners present during the Showcase are the Manila Angels Investors Network (MAIN), Ignite Impact Fund, Core Venture Capital, Foundation for Sustainable Society Inc., Small Enterprise Assistance Fund, ADB Ventures, and Small Business Corporation. The virtual demo day was also broadcasted on ISIP’s Facebook page to attract more potential partners for the social enterprises.
The Innovation for Social Impact Partnership is a project co-implemented by PhilDev and UNDP Philippines, with generous support from the Australian Embassy in the Philippines. In the accelerator program, UNDP and PhilDev combine their strengths in social innovation, sustainability, technology and entrepreneurship to enable social enterprises to become scalable businesses.
