MANILA, Philippines — Pangilinan-led IdeaSpace Foundation has infused P3 million into three startups that capitalize on the shift to digital platforms to address challenges and risks arising from the new normal.

Tech startups Betterteem, Fitscovery and Twala are getting P1 million in investments each after pitching the best proposals at the ninth run of IdeaSpace’s acceleration program.

IdeaSpace, chaired by business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, said it chose the three startups to receive funding from the organization for laying out the most feasible blueprints in growing their business.

Betterteem, a workplace app powered by artificial intelligence, maximizes predictive analysis for benchmarking and insights. It also provides employee assistance programs on demand to make mental health support accessible in the workplace.

Fitscovery acts as a service network that micro, small, and medium enterprises engaged in the fitness industry can use to put up their products online. The platform gives them the tools they need to install their websites with integrated procedures for booking and payments, as well as capacity for customer database management.

On the other hand, Twala serves as the country’s first document manager and e-signature site – powered by blockchain – that seeks to optimize business procedures in the pandemic aftermath by reducing red tape, courier cost, and avenues for fraud.

IdeaSpace president Butch Meily said Betterteem, Fitscovery, and Twala exhibited the capacity to scale up operations in the future during the program.

Meily also said the startup firms operate in industries that are seen expanding in the new normal given the pandemic’s legacy of promoting contactless transactions.

“We selected these three startups because they have demonstrated clear and strong plans to achieve rapid growth and outlined a huge market opportunity in their respective industries. Over the duration of the IdeaSpace acceleration program, they have also shown their ability to scale quickly,” Meily said.

Based on records, Betterteem maintains a network base of more than 3,000 users as it works with business process outsourcing giants like Accenture and Startek. Fitscovery, for its part, has 318 vendors on its registry catering to about 5,000 consumers on its platform.

Twala transacts with at least 2,000 individuals, 200 firms, and seven partners, credited for cutting contract signing time from up to 14 days, to just two hours or less.

IdeaSpace hosts early-stage startups for its acceleration program that stretches for a year in an effort to build up their team, refine their ideas, and improve the products and services they offer.

Article originally published: https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/07/18/2196087/ideaspace-invests-p1-million-each-3-tech-startups