Total calls on young entrepreneurs to submit innovative ideas

An idea-pitching competition has been rolled out to call upon the young entrepreneurs in the country. Total (Philippines) Corporation recently unveiled its Startupper of the Year by Total, a competition that will reward and discover groundbreaking initiatives and social enterprises.

Aiming to reward the young local entrepreneurs in any business sector with a project or business less than two years old, the 2018-2019 Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge is open to any participant that is not over 35 years old. This program is concurrently running in almost 60 countries, and will see winners realizing their dream businesses and enterprise come true to life. In each participating country, a local jury comprised of experts from Total, specialists from incubators and accelerators, business leaders and local community stakeholders will select three winners.

The winners will be selected according the three main criteria: social and community impact, innovative nature, and feasibility and growth potential. During the initial selection stage, each application will be given an overall score, which includes the automatic score from the online application questionnaire (90%) and the public vote (“Share for Likes,” 10%). In this way, the top 100 applications will be selected automatically in each country. 

The second selection stage will be performed by social entrepreneurship professionals. The selection criteria remain the same. Fifteen (15) finalists will be shortlisted to pitch to the jury, which will pick the three (3) overall winners. 

The three winners will be coined with the “Startupper of the Year by Total” label. Winners are going to receive financial support of at most P750,000, plus professional coaching and extensive publicity to advertise their project.

There will also be a special award to women entrepreneurs where the jury will select the Top Female Entrepreneur in each country. This special award, which is in addition to the other awards, is Total’s way of encouraging more women to take part in the Challenge.

More than just a business challenge, the 2018-2019 Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge also reaffirms Total’s commitment to capacity building in the countries where it operates, worldwide. By helping innovative young entrepreneurs to realize their projects, the Challenge strengthens the local social fabric. 

Interested applicants can start submitting their start-up ideas or project pitches from October 9 to November 13, 2018 at the dedicated Startupper of the Year by Total website.