PH Wins Third Place in APEC App Challenge

Winners Mr. Gerald Mendeja (third from right) and Mr. Jenero de Guzman (second from right) during the awarding ceremony along with first place winners from the US and second place winners from China, and the US APEC Senior Official Ambassador Matt Murray (rightmost), and APEC Secretariat Executive Director Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca Sta. Maria (leftmost). Photo from APEC National Secretariat

Seattle 30 August 2023 – On 21 August, the Philippines emerged in the final three of the APEC App Challenge. Filipinos Mr. Gerald Mendeja and Mr. Jenero de Guzman built an app called Emerge which offers an Export Readiness Assessment Tool to evaluate the readiness of businesses to export, a Public Global Directory to showcase businesses’ products and attract investors and a Smart Search feature for finding collaborations and investments. The app promotes inclusivity and revolutionizes global trade for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by facilitating their access in the APEC region. The award was given during a luncheon on the margins of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting (SMEMM).

Department of Trade and Industry Regional Operations Group (DTI-ROG) and head of Philippine delegation to the SMEMM Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona and the Department of Foreign Affairs APEC National Secretariat commended the work and success of the Filipino developers. This year’s app challenge focused on addressing the challenges faced by MSMEs in their digital participation, internationalization, and inclusion in global value chains. According to Undersecretary Lantayona, the app will be helpful to MSMEs and will aid them in expanding their reach, as the DTI-ROG now contemplates soft-launching the app in the Philippine market. The APEC National Secretariat expressed its appreciation to the developers for stepping up to empower Filipino MSMEs and taking on the challenge to support APEC in its agenda this year of creating a sustainable and inclusive future for all through interconnectedness, innovation, and inclusion.

The APEC app challenge runs yearly and, for this year, is sponsored by The Asia Foundation and Google. Winners receive cash prizes and other awards, along with technical mentorship, and invitations to participate in various events of APEC and the sponsors. For more information, please visit: https://www.apec.org/app-challenge/apec-app-challenge-2023. END

Winners Mr. Jenero de Guzman (left) and Mr. Gerald Mendeja (right) and Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona of DTI-ROG. Photo from APEC National Secretariat