by Cassandra Retino Teodosio
Project Duracinth bested nine other projects by student groups competing at the final stretch of Esquire Financing’s Fueling the Dream Business Model Competition held in the Asian Institute of Management last January 10.
Duracinth is an alternative hydrogel wound care material utilizing water hyacinth fiber to provide better wound recovery and comfort to users. The project is also expected to help local communities address the problem of water hyacinth-clogged waterways, which contributes to flooding during typhoons.
The Duracinth group is composed of Arlyze Arenas, Pierrei Pica, Tristan Alba, and Luigi Serafico from the Ateneo de Manila University. They will be awarded PhP 100,000 in cash and up to P 1 million in start-up capital from Esquire Financing.
The competition seeks to provide stimulus to young people with entrepreneurial aspirations to develop their business ideas, with cash incentives, mentoring interventions, and equity financing.
The other groups that participated in the competition were BahayCo, Be Hearty, CRESP, Explore PH, JUANted Manpower Agency, Studium, The Organic Pantry, Tarp Water lily Originals, and Veggy Spread representing various schools such as the Asia Pacific College, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University College of St. Benilde, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, and the University of Asia and the Pacific.
The board of judges was composed of Dr. Eduardo Canela of SERDEF, Professor Richard Cruz of Asian Institute of Management, Mr. Enrique Florencio of Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), Mr. John Paul Uminga (a representative of Mr. Ramon Lopez) of Go Negosyo and Mr. Rajan A. Uttamchandani, Chairman and CEO of Esquire Financing.
“It always intrigues me to go deep into the minds of young people,” wrote Dr. Canela after the judging. “It has been a very inspiring session with future start-up owners.”
SERDEF is an advocacy partner of Esquire for the said event.
Last month, the contending groups were mentored by SERDEF small business development specialists at sessions held at the UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI), UP Diliman campus. They were given guidance on how to improve their respective business model templates for presentation to the judges.
The formal announcement and awarding of winners will take place at a press conference to be held next month.
