E-Vest, a mobile platform for crowdfunding renewable energy

Two college students will be going head-to-head with 12 other teams from around the Asia-Pacific region to find out whose tech solution is best positioned to help solve the global energy crisis.
Team Green Goldies, Don Emmanuel Santamaria (21) and Fae Nicole Serrano (20) from De La Salle University, will be representing the Philippines in the regional leg of “Go Green in the City”, a global business case challenge organized by energy management leader Schneider Electric.
The problem—a general decline in renewable energy investments stemming from limited awareness and access to renewable energy projects. Their solution—E-Vest, a mobile platform to bridge the gap between developers of these initiatives and potential investors.
Santamaria and Serrano beat out 433 other student teams to land a P100,000 cash prize and represent the country on the regional and global stage.
“Honestly I was quite surprised,” Santamaria said. “During the mentoring sessions, I could clearly see we were having trouble. But thanks to the help of our mentors… we were able to deliver a case that suits those in need.”
In 2013, a delegation from Ateneo de Manila University competing in Go Green in the City won the global championship, bagging the top spot with their concept: Oscillohump, a device that harvests the kinetic energy produced by cars driving over road humps.
Every year, Go Green in the City fields applicants with ideas for tech solutions to issues ranging from sustainability and inclusivity to smart supply chains and the digital economy. This year’s national runners-up, Team OffTheGrid and Team Foodies, pitched solutions to food and energy waste.
Earle Kit Sanchez and Kathlyn Mae Yap of Team OffTheGrid presented their two-pronged project: Power Glass, an electricity generating glass pane designed to replace windows, shower doors, and other glass surfaces often exposed to water, and Go Green (GG) Tap, a mini-turbine installed in water distribution pipelines.
Syd Ian Matthew De Ama and Chelsea Kate Lavilla of Team Foodies hope to address global food waste and its detrimental effects on the environment with their concept: The Green Cycle, a mobile application that manages an ecosystem of users, food waste collection services, and recycling facilities that convert waste into renewable energy sources.
“This year, I noticed the competitors are more digital profiles,” said Maria Theresa Portillo, country head of human resources for Schneider Electric Philippines. “They’re really the digital citizens of the nation today. And it’s quite inspiring to see the youth advocating and promoting sustainability, going green, powering cities, giving electricity access to the most remote areas of the country.”
“I am really just amazed by the quality of the competitors that we had this year,” she said.
Having won the national leg of the competition, Santamaria and Serrano will be virtually competing with representatives from 12 other APAC countries over August 28 and 29. If they manage to top the regional leg, they’ll be flying to Atlanta, Georgia in the United States to compete in the global competition this November.
“The wait-and-see attitude of Asians, they want to go into something sure or clear, that’s something we really need to take into consideration—how to get people involved in our application,” Santamaria said, commenting on the wealth of insight they’ve received during the competition so far.
“There’s a lot to be done, working with all their comments,” Serrano said. “I’m looking forward to learning more… seeing what more we can do, what more they can teach us.”