Benilde HiFi formalized its partnerships by signing an official contract with its startups at the 3F Benilde HiFi Building on Sept. 16. With multiple events planned for the Philippine Creative Industries Month (PCIM), HiFi unveiled its startup exhibition and mural.
In an intimate setting, Chancellor Benhur Ong, MBA, opened the event by acknowledging the presence of Mr. Peter D. Garrucho Jr., OBE, Benilde HiFi’s benefactor, and highlighting the beliefs and goals of the incubation. “[...] at Benilde, we believe that innovation equates to patient delivery. I think it’s important to nurture innovators…innovation has no limits.”
In an interview with The Benildean, Ar. Alexander Abear, Incubation Management Unit Head and ID109 BS Architecture Alumnus, elaborated on the goals of the event. “[...] we called it [the event] ‘Unveiled,’ because we want to… extend our reach further to the community. We want to demystify to the majority of the community what HiFi really is because, based on feedback, majority… doesn’t know yet what HiFi is, what we do, etc.”
An extraordinary idea
With Mr. Garrucho being the keynote speaker for the event, he conveyed the history, his doubts, and how HiFi Benilde eventually became one of the best incubators in the Philippines. “... [back] then, the idea of innovation was getting a lot more clarified… this is really related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the STEM programs,” he shared in his speech.
As Benilde was filled with programs in the creative industries, Mr. Garrucho became more certain of his decision to foster talents outside of STEM fields when he saw that there could be innovation beyond the standard at the time. “[...] in the creative industries… it’s not really a world of metrics. How do you compare the joys of listening to… Beethoven?... and in architecture, how do you measure how much you marvel at the building that will be part of the nation’s legacy?”
Signing up for success
The official signing of HiFi was with 13 startups—FiMi, Oyloop, Patricia Broniola, Sampaguita, Balanced Futures, Ziv Rei Alexi, Anda Home, Gifted Innovations, Coterie Nolana, REPAMANA, Bike School Philippines, Casa Amorito, and Sociofact. The incubation is open to anyone with innovative ideas, creating an environment with individuals coming from different backgrounds.
To learn more about these projects, the incubation launched the Startup Exhibition located on the mezzanine floor of the Benilde HiFi Building. The reveal of the mockup mural was also presented during the event, created by Mr. Glendford Lumbao—a muralist who was a former member of the first startups in the incubation.
Mr. Lumbao’s work will be launched on Sept. 25, during the Live of the Maverick’s culminating event of their PCIM celebration.
Innovation is limitless
Ms. Jeza Rodriguez, the founder of Bike School Philippines, is an ID117 AB-Psychology alumna from De La Salle Araneta University, who is a new addition to the lineup of startups under HiFi. In an interview with The Benildean, she shared advocacy and plans alongside the newly formed partnership.
Bike School Philippines aims to promote active transportation in the Philippines and educate women about bicycles, providing a safe space to not just learn how to ride one but also fix one. “Whenever I enter bike shops, palaging lalaki ‘yung mekaniko…I was wondering… ‘Bakit parang walang babaeng mekaniko?’”
Ms. Rodriguez’s course of action to achieve her goals is through education, “For HiFi, I want to maximize the space… continue doing workshops, hopefully I can use the HiFi space to teach bike mechanics and ‘learn to ride’ lessons.”
Benilde HiFi is not exclusive to students or alumni only, as Mr. Robin Serrano becomes the first-ever full-time faculty member of DLS-CSB to join as a startup with Gifted Innovations. “My startup developed a tech [crowdfunding] platform, called ‘giftED,’ an easy-to-use donation platform that empowers schools to be able to bring external support… through small and recurring donations.”
“As an incubatee of HiFi, [they] assisted me in terms of not only developing the technological component of the platform but even assisted me in terms of… training me as a founder, mentored me as far as developing the startup, and advising me as far as the business model of the enterprise.” With the help and support of HiFi, Mr. Serrano’s idea slowly but surely came to life, as giftED will be launched around October and used by institutions like Benilde.
With more days to celebrate PCIM, Benilde HiFi invites the Benildean community to take part in their upcoming events, exploring the theme Reverium: reverie, delirium, and resonance. Visit the Maker’s Market, which runs until Sept. 25, followed by SOONA on Sept. 26. The community can also join the premier Talkback: Designing the creative economy, and jive to the music at Maverick’s night and the mural unveiling, all happening on Sept. 25 as well.
To know more about future events from Benilde HiFi and learn more about the creative industries, make sure to check out their Website, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
