PH startup Connected Women among 12 finalists at MIT innovation challenge

MANILA, Philippines – A startup whose idea is to match entrepreneurs with Filipinas looking for remote work has been named as one of the 12 finalists at the MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC) Asia Regional Celebration. 

The startup, Connected Women, was chosen among 165 applicants across 25 countries in Asia. It was one of two PH startups that were chosen, with the other one being Storm Technologies. Storm is the company behind Storm Flex, an online administration system that allows employees to convert benefits into points that can be used in a marketplace.

On the other hand, Connected Women created the Connected Women Jobs website wherein Filipinas will be able to search for online jobs, and entrepreneurs will be able to browse through a pool of talent. It also matches women-led businesses and startups with Filipinos looking for online jobs in administrative work, customer service, marketing, or editorial services.   

The two were named at an event held in Bangkok, Thailand last August 24, 2018.

Connected Women finished as a top 3 finalist in the Skills Development and Opportunity Matching category. The category winner was iMerit, a company which hires and trains underserved communities in data and content work for machine learning.

The MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge is the flagship program of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, and rewards companies that offer new tech-driven solutions that reimagine what work is and how it can be transformed. The finalists will vie for the $1,000,000 top prize at the MIT IIC Global Grand Prize Gala at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on November 8.

“It was a humbling experience to meet people from around the region who are tackling some of the world’s most challenging problems through innovation-driven entrepreneurship. Connected Women is honored to be recognized as an MIT IIC Asia Finalist among them,” said Gina Romero, CEO and co-founder of Connected Women. – Rappler.com