Komunidad shared the strides it made in helping governments and enterprises in building more climate resilient communities and industries, through the power of data and analytics at the recently held Philippine AgriFood Tech Summit 2022.
Sponsored by Silicon-Valley based venture capital firm AgFunder and Philippines’ leading agri-fisheries platform MAYANI, the Philippine AgriFoodTech Summit 2022 gathered key startups, government leaders, impact investors and market movers to unlock the potential of the Philippine agri-food system.
Agriculture Undersecretary Kristine Evangelista led the opening of the event, while Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Government Berna Romulo-Puyat gave the closing remarks.
Themed “Impact, Inclusion and Imperatives,” the event touched on “Future-proofing the Philippine AgriFood Supply Chain,” “Empowering the Unbanked: AgriFintech as the Next Space to be Unlocked,” and “The AgFunder Southeast Asia Outlook.”
The event was held on November 17 at RCBC Plaza in Makati City.
Komunidad’s CEO Felix Ayque was among the speakers at the Startup Showcase where he highlighted how the company’s Early Warning System has saved lives, especially in vulnerable communities in the Philippines where we encounter an average of 20 storms yearly.
Ayque however noted that the lack of connectivity of half of the total of 42,064 barangays across the country remains an obstacle in strengthening the Philippines’ climate resilience.
“The lack of data and access to information limits the capacity of the Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Offices to plan, prepare and provide early warning to its community,” he said.
In the panel for Startup Showcase, Ayque was joined by WTH Foods Co-founder & COO Carissa Lim Tan and Agridom Solutions Corp. VP for Operations Jennifer Joy Subang.
Ayque noted that the national government and big cities have emergency operations centers built on expensive infrastructure equipment and multiple software systems, but such pricey technology leaves out communities without funding, and thus makes them more vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change.
His proposal: Connectivity and an integrated Climate Resilience System setup in any barangay in the Philippines, without the expensive equipment or software systems—such as what Komunidad offers.
Ayque shared that Komunidad has already put up a case study in Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte and has empowered two climate vulnerable communities that now have access to automated reporting and early warning systems.
The Komunidad founder said that the hub set up in Camarines Norte will become each barangay’s go-to for risk reduction, especially during times of calamities.
