Filipino regulatory technology (regtech) startup UNAWA placed first runner-up in the Business Plan Challenge of the 2020 Licensing Executives Society Asia Pacific (LES APAC) Conference, a regional competition that featured various startups addressing challenges in intellectual property. It was the sole Philippine startup in the competition, which featured four teams from across the Asia-Pacific region.
“We are honored with this recognition by LES APAC’s Business Plan Challenge,” said Atty. Mona Dimalanta, CEO of UNAWA. “As a proudly Filipino startup, we believe that this win is also representative of the remarkable progress that the Philippine regtech industry has undergone over the past few years.”
The Business Plan Challenge is a regular feature of the LES APAC Conference, an annual gathering of the region’s experts in the intellectual property and licensing industries. Hosted by LES Singapore on October 22–23, this year marked the first time that the conference was held entirely online, following the theme of “Licensing in the Age of Innovation.”
The overall winner of this year’s Business Plan Challenge was asEars, a Japanese startup developing innovative technology targeted at individuals with single-sided deafness. asEars’ product, which resembles a pair of glasses, allows individuals to better communicate with their peers in both casual and professional settings.
Award-winning solution
UNAWA’s pitch focused on its Digital Transaction Hub, an end-to-end solution that enables Philippine businesses to digitize their analog forms, protect their assets, and transact with other businesses securely and efficiently. Through its suite of solutions, UNAWA is helping entrepreneurs create more value, continue closing deals and earning, and capitalize on opportunities presented by the new normal.
“We have built our team and our business to help other businesses understand and navigate the terrain, and make business clearer, more convenient, more cost-efficient, and easier for them to survive and thrive,” said Niña Terol, Chief Marketing Officer of UNAWA, in the team’s pitch.
Included in the UNAWA Digital Transaction Hub are the following products:
- SafeForm – A tool that helps businesses digitize their analog forms and processes
- SignSecure – A digital solution providing e-signature and mobile-verified encryption, making sure that a digital document is authentic and legally binding in the Philippines
- SignSecure RNotary – A service that gives businesses easier access to remote notarization, as the Supreme Court has recently allowed remote notarization for certain documents
“Our solutions were made with Philippine businesses in mind, which face various challenges relating to notarization that were only exacerbated by the country’s community quarantines,” explained Terol. “Through the Digital Transaction Hub, we aim to make a difference for our fellow Filipino entrepreneurs, and we will continue this thrust as we scale up to other countries in the near future.”
About UNAWA
UNAWA is a regulatory technology startup making ease of doing business a reality in the Philippines and helping them survive and thrive in the increasingly digital economy. Established in 2020, it is a partnership between multi-awarded legal firm PJS Law and inclusiontech startup Talino Venture Labs.
For more information, visit https://unawa.asia