The PESO-Davao Challenge

The PESO regional business plan competition, dubbed as the PESO-Davao Challenge, was launched last June 20, 2007, 9:00-11:00am, at the Dormitory of the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP), Barrio Obrero, Davao City. The launch was done in coordination with the Philippine Emerging Startups Open (PESO), Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII), Philippine-Australia Human Resource Development Facility (PAHRDF), Council of Deans for IT Education in Region XI (CDITE-XI) and Philippine Society of IT Educators-Region XI (PSITE-XI).

The launch was also attended by personalities from government agencies such as the Commission on Higher Education-Region XI (CHED-XI), Department of Science and Technology-XI (DOST-XI), Department of Trade and Industry-XI (DTI-XI), Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS), Davao City Council as well as faculty and students from some of the participating schools in the Technopreneurship Training held last November 2006 to January 2007.

The main highlight of the launch was the presentation by Federico "Dickie" C. Gonzalez, President/CEO of PESO, on the concept, philosophy, guidelines and mechanisms of the regional business plan competition which was patterned from the PESO national business plan competition. To stir up the audience, Dickie sponsored a 15-minute "technology-business idea competition" for the students who were around. The students were made to compose their own teams and write down their bright technology-business ideas within the given time. A price of Php1,000.00 for the best technology-business idea was dangled as an incentive. Among those who submitted, there were four that were selected as good potentials, namely: (1) a triangulation strategy to locate the nearest taxi for a calling passenger; (2) enzymes in sour fruits such as kalamansi as possible alternative source of electricity; (3) a voice-to-text messaging mechanism for cell phones; and (4) a pen that can store whatever it writes or scribbles on paper. The fourth entry (a pen that can store data) was chosen as the winner and won the Php1,000.00. The results of the short contest were proof that our young students are capable of coming up with bright ideas and just need to be guided.

Calbert Dagatan, a fresh BSCS graduate of the Ateneo de Davao University, also shared his experience in joining the PESO national business competition last year and gave some tips and advice to the students on how to take advantage of the competition, prepare for it, and have the right attitude. The business concept of their team qualified for the first round but did not make it to the final round due to lack of guidance and communication lapses with the organizers in Manila. With the PESO Challenge now in Davao and the presence of possible mentors, the students have greater chances now of winning in the business plan competition.

The 3-5-page business concepts are due on August 20, 2007 for the initial screening and qualifying round. Those who qualify will undergo enterprise management enrichment workshops within the months of September and October 2007. The full-blown business plans (around 20 pages) will be due on October 20, 2007. Some of the good business plans will be presented during the 6th Mindanao ICT Congress on October 23-24, 2007 at the NCCC Mall. The final presentation and judging is slated on November 10, 2007. The final winners will be announced on November 14, 2007.

Twelve schools were involved in the Technopreneurship Training and will be the main source of business concepts for the qualifying round come August 20, 2007. Big prizes are at stake in the competition and will be announced in the next few weeks when finalized. Roadshows in different schools have been set to encourage more teams to participate.

The PESO Challenge website is at http://www.pesochallenge.org. The PESO-Davao Challenge website is hosted at http://ite.uic.edu.ph/peso/index.htm and the email address is pesodavao@gmail.com.