CNN Philippines’s ‘The Final Pitch’ kicks off 8th edition
CNN Philippines’s The Final Pitch (TFP) has launched its 8th season, which will showcase an all-tech lineup of start-ups and entrepreneurs.
This edition is timely to the booming local startup ecosystem, with a 179 percent growth in funding raised in 2021 to as much as $1 billion, generating interest from both local and international investors.
UBX president and chief executive officer (CEO) John Januszczak, Digital Pilipinas and World Fintech Festival-philippines convenor Amor Maclang, and Wilcon Depot senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Rosemarie Bosch-ong will reprise their roles as the program’s investor-judges.
Joining them as new financier-jurors are Coins. ph CEO Wei Zhou, Paymongo cofounder and CEO Francis Plaza and Fredley Group of Cos. founder and CEO Avin Ong. Streamlined Campaigns Philippines managing director Kaiser Estrada will serve as one of the mentors.
“This will be our biggest season yet,” John Aguilar, creator and host of TFP, said during the show’s press launch online on June 6. “The 8th season of the show is a very deliberate slant toward tech and we are looking forward to backing start-ups that will help our economy transition back to pre-pandemic growth levels.”
The upcoming installment will focus on how new technology like blockchain solves problems, according to Zhou. He said: “We’re looking for startups that have creative solutions for real problems. We want to work with a founding team with a strong vision, clear goals, and the drive to get things done.”
Januszczak added that they are searching for a “ruthless product that fits the market,” such as blockchain-enabled, cryptocurrency and Defi (decentralized finance)-focused ideas, as well as “looking for people who are willing to do the hard work.” What’s more, the investor-judges will find “founders who share the same grit as we do and work together to make changes in the community,” Plaza shared.
Giving tips to the contestants, Fredley Group’s Ong advised them that “it’s essential that we stay hungry, stay curious, and do more to achieve more.”
Interested applicants for The Final Pitch’s Season 8: Tech Edition can fill up the application form at www. thefinalpitch.ph/application or get in touch with the show at submit@thefinalpitch.ph or admin@dragonsnest.co. The deadline for submission of applications is by June 24.
Filming of TFP will be held on July 5 and 6 in Okada Manila. Premier of the show produced by Streetpark Productions Inc. will be on July 31 at 8:30 pm on CNN Philippines. This will serve as a prelude and a run-up to The Final Pitch: Asean, which will involve Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam by 2023 and filmed and broadcast across Asia.