Future-Ready Solutions Emerge from Metro Manila Byte Forward Hackathon

The Metro Manila leg of the Byte Forward Hackathon, held August 7-8 at Seda Vertis North, Quezon City, brought together young innovators to create technology-driven solutions for real business challenges.

Organized with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and hosted by Converge SME Solutions and Rev21 Labs, the 24-hour event featured ten university teams solving issues sourced from PCCI members and Converge SME partners.

First place went to De La Salle University with a voice-powered mobile app for sales and inventory insights, AI-powered Q&A, and auto-ordering. Polytechnic University of the Philippines earned second place for a voice-command sales and stock logging system with analytics. Asian Institute of Management placed third with a web portal using OCR and data clustering for MSME pricing assistance.

Winners took home cash prizes and free internet access, with the top two teams receiving 12 months of connectivity.

PCCI President Consul Enunina V. Mangio praised the participants for aligning innovation with MSME growth, while Rev21 Labs CEO Ron Puno emphasized the role of hackathons in unlocking fresh perspectives. The journey now leads to the national finals at the 51st Philippine Business Conference and Expo on October 21-22 at SMX Convention Center, Manila.