QBO funds speech, remittance apps

QBO Innovation Hub, a startup ecosystem integrator, awarded a total of $5,000 to three startups to help them reach more customers.

The cash prizes were given last week to the winning members of the third cohort of ARISE Plus Ye Boost Accelerator Program, which is supported by QBO’s creators J.P. Morgan, IdeaSpace Foundation, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Science and Technology. The program is also funded by the European Union.

Mylo Speech Buddy, a speech development app for children with autism, won the grand prize of $2,500 last week.

Mylo founder and chief executive officer Vincent Rocha, whose own child falls in the autism spectrum, told THE DAILY TRIBUNE on Sunday that he will use the funds to enhance the app which now has 60,000 users worldwide.

Grand champ

“Honestly, I don’t know why Mylo was chosen as the grand winner. But I’m so thankful to the panelists because I believe the app will help many more people,” he said.

The World Health Organization says one in 100 children are diagnosed with autism.

Meanwhile, BCRemit, a fintech company that facilitates remittances between the Philippines and the United Kingdom through its app, received the second prize of $1,500.

“We want to expand our service to those in the United States. We are also working to offer BCRemit to the rest of Europe through our Spanish partner,” BCRemit co-founder and director Jose Angelo Calma said in a phone call.

BCRemit has attracted customers through its remittance fee of as low as $2.99 and fast and secure fund transfers.

Calma shared BCRemit has increased customers to over 35,000.

Clients can transfer funds to accounts issued by nine Philippine banks and major pawnshops and remittance centers in the country.

Personal remittances continued to increase from January to April by 2.8 percent to $11.68 billion from the level recorded in the same period in 2023. The United States remained the top source of remittances, accounting for 41 percent of the total.

Last, Pamme, a fashion brand that partners with women in jail to make jewelry pieces out of recycled plastics, won the third prize of $1,000.

A total of 12 startups pitched their products for the ARISE Plus Ye Boost Accelerator Program of QBO, which gathers all startup stakeholders to also provide knowledge and skills-building activities to youth-led Filipino startups.