The winners will receive a trip to Beijing, participate in a week-long boot camp, and secure a spot to pitch on the international stage

She Loves Tech, a global women- and technology-focused competition, is back in the Philippines for a second run on August 3, 2019 at QBO Innovation Hub.

Any women-led or women-impact businesses can join the competition. Deadline for applications is on July 1, 2019.

The criteria to participate in this competition are: 1) startups which are seeking angel, seed or Series A round funding (under US$5M funding raised) with, at minimum, a viable product past its conceptual stage; 2) any entrepreneur, male or female, who is using technology to impact women positively, or at least one female entrepreneur must be part of the founding team who is using technology to solve a problem; and 3) startups which use science and innovation to invent useful things to solve problems, particularly in fintech, AI & Big Data, Internet of Things, medtech, clean energy, agritech, edtech, and consumer tech.

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The winners of the Philippine round will receive a trip to Beijing, China where they will attend the She Loves Tech 2019 International Conference, participate in a week-long boot camp, secure a spot to pitch on the international stage, and gain networking opportunities with China’s leading tech ecosystem players.

They will also get investment opportunities from She Loves Tech’s official venture partner Teja Ventures and other affiliate funds.

The Philippines is lauded for having one of the narrowest gender-gaps in the world, but the same can’t be said for the tech industry. The local startup ecosystem remains male dominated with women accounting for only 18 per cent of startup founders. Closing this gap could prove to have considerable economic benefits — with some studies showing that female-founded startups outperform their all-male counterparts in terms of revenue, ringing in as much as US$68,000 more over a five-year period.

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“We’ve been vigilant in our efforts to improve the participation of female founders in the startup ecosystem through our Startup Pinay program, and we’re happy to be furthering this push by continuing our support for She Loves Tech,” said Katrina Chan, Director of QBO Innovation Hub. “Last year’s winner, Olivia, with the support of DOST did the Philippines proud in the global competition. I’m looking forward to meeting the startups who will vie for the prize this year and seeing more lady bosses take the stage.”

She Loves Tech is an initiative showcasing the convergence of the latest trends in technology, entrepreneurship, innovation and the opportunities it creates for women. The program is designed to give the world’s most promising women tech entrepreneurs and women impact startups an opportunity to showcase their businesses to a global audience of investors and influencers.

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