Ateneo Students Win Top Spots at the 2007 JCI Best Business Plan Competition
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Algawell, composed of Katherine Cheng, Justin dela Cruz, Kimberley Ong and Chris Palarca. Photo taken with JCI Manila President Louie Basilio. |
Two Ateneo teams emerged in the top spots of the 2007 JCI Best Business Plan of the Philippines. Algawell, a company participating in the SOMBA (School of Management Business Accelerator) program was awarded as the National Champion for a business plan on the production of ethanol from algae. The company is composed of Katherine Cheng (IV BS MGT), Michael Espiritu (III BS BIO), Abby Garcia (III BS BIO), Jose Joy Gepanaga (III BS BIO), Kimberley Ong (IV BS MGT), Chris Palarca (BS MGT ’07) and Oliver Salva (BS MIS ’05). Green Cycle Corporation, a team based in the JG-SOM was awarded 2nd Runner-up for a business plan on the commercialization of environmentally-friendly building materials. This team is composed of Mark Edison Chua (IV BS MGT), Beau John Encarnacion (IV BS MGT), Katrina Marie Lising (IV BS MGT), Juan Paolo Alberto Ocampo (IV BS MGT), Marco Angelo Padernal (IV BS MGT) and Nicanor Angelo Tapangco (IV BS MGT). Corplastics, a team from Far Eastern University, was awarded 1st Runner-up for a business plan on biodegradable plastic bags made from corn by-products.
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Green Cycle Corporation, composed of Mark Edison Chua, Beau John Encarnacion, Katrina Marie Lising, Juan Paolo Alberto Ocampo, Marco Angelo Padernal, Nicanor Angelo Tapangco. Photo taken with JCI Manila President Louie Basilio. |
Four other teams from Ateneo were selected as finalists for the competition. They were Carbon Offsetting Today, Inc. (gold standard verified emissions reduction carbon credits), ChoiceHerds (herd-based decision-making), INDI (fashionable clothing line made from Philippine indigenous textiles) and Releaf Corporation (topical analgesic cream gel). Supervision for the Ateneo teams was handled by Mrs. Anna A. Mendiola, Chairperson of the JG-SOM Marketing & Law department. The national finals and announcement of winners was held last June 22, 2007 at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati.
For garnering the top prizes in the national competition, Algawell, Green Cycle Corporation and Corplastics have been selected as official entries by JCI Philippines to the Best Business Plan of the World Competition. If selected, the teams will have the chance to represent the Philippines and present their business plans in the World Finals to be held in Antalya, Turkey this November 2007. The winning team shall be awarded $5,000 as seed money to jumpstart the winning business venture.
The JCI Best Business Plan Competition is a flagship project of the JCI (Junior Chamber International), a worldwide federation of 18 to 40 year-old professionals and entrepreneurs. In the Philippines, the competition has been launched for the past three years by the Manila Jaycees, a chapter of the JCI. For more information, visit http://www.bestbusinessplan.ph