Closing Ceremony of the Impact Hub Fellowship on Sustainable Energy Solutions in Partnership with WWF and PEF, and supported by ADB.
Manila, Philippines— After over a year, the second Fellowship incubation program of Impact Hub Manila, in partnership with Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and supported by Asian Development Bank (ADB), has come to an end with a closing ceremony last April 18. The Impact Hub Fellowship program focused on addressing the need for sustainable energy solutions by looking for promising entrepreneurs who deliver innovative products or services related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, access to energy, energy systems and energy consumption reduction.
Out of more than 50 applicants, only three winners were selected namely, HiGi Energy, CleverHeat and Solar Solutions, and went through an intensive 2-month cohort or accelerator program called KICK, where they received training and mentorship. Moreover, they received seed funding of Php500,000.00 each, as well as access to the coworking space and community of Impact Hub Manila.
The three start-ups shared their journeys and accomplishments in the past year:
HiGi Energy
HiGi converts water hyacinths — commonly known as pest plants — and agricultural wastes into cooking energy such as briquettes. Their mission is to give access to affordable, sustainable and clean energy for low-income communities. Leon Kee and Hazel Pajotagana share, “We see ourselves redefining the charcoal industry, and to date we’ve sold 10,000 pieces in rural areas. We launched visibility in Manila, joined by Reuters, Impact Hub Manila, and International Speakers. We were recognized for the TAYO award, as well as given the Smart Innovation award. We even attracted the attention of ABS-CBN’s Atom Araullo for Atom day.”
Solar Solutions
Solar Solutions provides solar energy facilities focused on empowering local communities by providing them lighting, water purification, mobile charging and refrigeration systems. Raffy Concepcion and Rey Guerrero share, “We were able to partner with the NGO Kasagana Ka – they’ll be including the solar sari-sari store in their line of products. …. We were able to meet key partners and referrals because of Impact Hub Manila, ADB, PEF, and WWF. “
CleverHeat
CleverHeat gives access to affordable and sustainable heat-driven refrigeration for farmers, fishermen, and small businesses, significantly cutting down electric consumption and reducing costs. Brian Tan Seng shares, “In Benguet, we saw five truck loads of organic wastes produced every day. It was a chance for us to plug in our solutions such as waste management and post-harvest food waste. Since they didn’t want to make use of appliances, such as refrigerators, due to the high cost of electricity, we can provide them with a solution, our solution [in collaboration with Kitchen Energy.]”
Represented by WWF and PEF during the ceremony were Attorney Gia Ibay and Ding Fuellos, respectively. Both speakers thanked Impact Hub Manila and the winners for the partnership and opportunity to work on renewable energy.
“We’ve been looking forward to this for so long. Despite the fact that we’re a country filled with conservation, a fruitful collaboration for renewable energy would not have happened without this partnership. Hopefully, the Philippines will prosper even more in this department as well as be a more weather-resilient country in the future,” says Attorney Ibay of WWF.
Impact Hub Manila will be holding its third fellowship program soon this year focused on sustainable energy solutions in partnership with WWF, PEF, ADB and HSBC. Stay tuned for updates on the application period by following Impact Hub Manila on Facebook or subscribing to the newsletter. For more info, visit impacthub.ph.
Impact Hub Manila offers coworking spaces, incubation programs, corporate innovation workshops, and a vibrant learning community. Locally rooted and globally connected, Impact Hub continues to dominate the coworking industry as the largest global network of entrepreneurs with 15,000+ members in 101 Impact Hubs around the world. In partnership with KMC Solutions, Impact Hub Manila offers 6 key locations in Metro Manila for coworking or office space. This allows flexibility and convenience to entrepreneurs and startups who are passionate in collaborating to create an impact. Members can choose their preferred homebase (location) and move around other Impact Hub coworking spaces with no additional costs.
