Eleven community and tech startup businesses have been selected for the Shell LiveWIRE 2023 Acceleration program where they will receive mentorship, training, and financial support. Among the selected businesses are three tech startups, six community enterprises, and two Shell Sponsor’s A-List.
Shell LiveWIRE is a program that aims to help businesses identify their core strengths and establish a system that can strengthen their capacity to scale, improve their products, expand their market, and generate sustainable streams of revenue.
“In these uncertain times, the significance of platforms like Shell LiveWIRE cannot be overstated. They act as catalysts for progress, fostering connections, driving innovation, and empowering local enterprises to navigate challenges and thrive in an ever-changing world,” Serge Bernal, SPC Vice President for Corporate Relations said.
This year, Shell LiveWIRE received 219 applications, 141 of them are tech startups, and 78 are community enterprises.
The Tech Innovators
Shell LiveWIRE supports businesses that are on the cutting edge of innovation, focusing on energy solutions, value chain integration, and economic diversification. This year, the selected tech startups include LITHOS Manufacturing OPC, a company focused on adding value to the local minerals for industrial, agricultural, aquaculture, and environmental applications; Lycan, a company that integrates smart technologies into two-wheeled electric vehicles; and Farmvocacy, Inc., a social climate fintech startup that supports climate-smart rice farming, environment-friendly, and high-yielding farming systems.
The Community-Driven Entrepreneurs
The six community enterprises selected for this year support Shell LiveWIRE’s vision of strengthening local economies by promoting entrepreneurship, innovation, and meaningful employment. These enterprises include Samahang Mangingisda ng Dalupaon (SAMADA), a group of fisherfolks that ventured into an agri-enterprise related to fish processing; Tagbilaran Young Workers Association, a business that produces bags, and other souvenir items, with upcycled plastic waste; PHILIA Variety Store, a direct market conduit for the smallholder community farmers of Coffee, Cacao, Coconut & other agricultural products; DLR Foods Supply Trading, a company that provides ready-to-eat meals in retort pouches that are halal certified; Odicon Small Coconut Farmers’ Organization (OSCFO), an agricultural enterprise that specializes in the sustainable processing of coconut byproducts; and Agri-VINO Enterprises, a chicken poultry business that provides egg incubation service to the community, reducing travel costs for fellow growers.
Shell Sponsor’s A-List
Aside from the nine selected businesses under the tech startup and community enterprise categories, two other businesses also made it to the list of participants in the Acceleration Program. These businesses are Forent, the Philippines’ peer-to-peer car-sharing platform where car owners make money by renting their cars out to anyone in need of transportation; and USHER Technologies (or the Universal Structural Health Evaluation and Recording System), a company that provides equipment that monitors and analyze the structural health of buildings.
The selection of the shortlisted businesses was done by a panel of judges comprising of Shell leaders, DTI representatives, and venture capitalists who are experts in industry and market requirements. Tech startups will get a chance to win Php 1,000,000. While for community enterprises, all founders will receive a Php 100,000 grant after the program. On top of these, all participants get a chance to be a part of the Shell Value Chain as suppliers or vendors in the company’s ecosystem.