DOST – ICT Office teams up with TechTalks.ph, CEDF-IT anew for SWC 4

THE Information and Communications Technology Office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ICT Office), is again supporting Startup Weekend Cebu (SWC) which will be on its fourth staging come June 6-8 at the University of Cebu (UC) Banilad campus.

Startup Weekend Cebu 4, organized by TechTalks.ph and DOST-ICT Office and supported by Cebu Educational Development Foundation for IT (CEDF-IT), is aimed at generating breakthrough ideas from tech communities in the Visayas region.

Startup Weekend is a 54-hour competition where developers, designers, marketers, technopreneurs, and venture capitalists come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startup businesses.

The concept, which started in the U.S., is a global movement to empower young entrepreneurs to nurture their innovative ideas into becoming sustainable businesses.

The event gathers experts and practitioners from different fields of business to mentor the participants as they launch their concepts into business reality.

The whole event involves the participants in different stages of the business cycle including idea creation and business pitching, prototype development, mentorship and networking sessions until product or business presentation to possible investors and funders.

According to DOST Undersecretary and ICT Office executive director Louis Napoleon C. Casambre, the ICT Office has been moving forward in its new thrust to uplift the entrepreneurial spirit in the ICT industry, and in line with this, it is supporting Startup Weekend Cebu 4.

“The DOST - ICT Office believes that providing support in countryside entrepreneurial activities is an effective way in livening and expanding the local economy through ICT,” Ibrahim said. “Promotion of homegrown ICT products and businesses will not only provide employment in the countryside but also help develop innovative and creative solutions that can address not only the local but also the global market.”

Tina Amper, founder of TechTalks.ph, said the DOST - ICT Office has since been very supportive of their activities, which now includes a Startup Weekend in Bohol later this year.

“From the first Startup Weekend Cebu to `Geeks on a Beach’, the DOST - ICT Office has been a consistent backer,” Amper said. “They have always been there for us, and we are very grateful to them, specially to Usec. Casambre and ICT Office deputy executive director Mon Ibrahim.”

Amper is serving as adviser/mentor to a new set of volunteer organizers who have stepped up to lead this year’s Startup Weekend. Entrepreneurs Rica Serenio and Ben Skelton will be leading SWCebu and SWBohol, respectively.

During Startup Weekend, participants get acquainted with one another starting on a Friday night. They pitch startup concepts they are passionate about, and form teams around the most popular ideas. They refine their ideas and business plans and start building product prototypes with the help of the onsite mentors, and then present what they have accomplished in a four-minute pitch and demo by Sundayevening.

Following the success of its inaugural staging in May 2012, Startup Weekend Cebu organizers successfully staged its second and third and now decided to hold its fourth leg in June due to the incessant demand of startup enthusiasts in the Visayas and Mindanao area again in partnership with DOST-ICT Office.

With the support of DOST - ICT Office, Amper said the 4^th edition of Startup Weekend Cebu in June is again expected to be a resounding success, as well as the first Startup Weekend Bohol in Tagbilaran.

The DOST – ICT Office and TechTalks.ph are likewise co-organizing Startup Weekend Bohol which, according to Amper, has already drawn the backing of Bohol Gov. Edgar M. Chatto.

Everybody interested in learning how to start a business using web or mobile technologies are invited to participate in Startup Weekend Cebu 4. Technical mastery is not required.

Students, business people, and tech enthusiasts are encouraged to attend. Software developers and designers are likewise welcome to the event.

For registration or more information, visit the cebu.startupweekend.org or bohol.startupweekend.org sites, or find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @swcebu and @swbohol.