Starting October, 8Ventures Chairman and CEO Jay Ricky Villarante will be one of the top investor-judges of CNN Philippines’ The Final Pitch, the country’s first and only business reality TV show which brings together business owners and investors.
During the show’s seventh season, dubbed the Virtual Edition, aspiring entrepreneurs and startup owners will have the chance to pitch their ideas to the show’s investor-judges about their respective businesses and/or entrepreneurial ideas on-location at The Final Pitch’s studios.
Villarante describes how 8Ventures and its companies share the same vision and goals with The Final Pitch: “We bring innovation into Philippine industries that will improve the quality of products and services that businesses are developing, which in turn will elevate the quality of life of the public. It is our mission to grow organizations that create and use new technologies to develop profitable businesses around game-changing systems, products, and services.”
8Ventures includes companies such as Paylance Inc., a bitcoin payments and rewards platform that lets users send money for free and earn bitcoins; Moneybees, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-licensed cryptocurrency exchange that is processing billions of pesos of transactions every year; and Secuna, a cybersecurity testing platform for SMEs, government agencies, banks, and multinational companies.
The Final Pitch viewed on The Final Pitch YouTube channel with new uploads every Wednesday and Friday, 5 PM PHT. Joining Villarante as an investor-judge will be Dave Almirol Jr., Founder and CEO of Multisys Technologies Corporation; Bernard Dy, Mayor of Cauayan City, Isabela; Rosemarie Bosch-Ong, SEVP-Chief Operating Officer of Wilcon Depot; and Dennis Uy, Founder, and CEO of Converge ICT Solutions Inc.
“As an innovator that is effective with out-of-the-box solutions to sectors like cryptocurrency and cybersecurity, 8Ventures is well-aware of the emerging challenges that face startup companies and developing investors in these sectors,” says Villarante. "Supporting the next generation of innovators and emerging businesses requires a good amount of technical guidance, development of their business models, and funding for them to be successful. With our in-depth knowledge, business savviness, and corporate experience, 8Ventures’ cutting-edge agility can seek, assess, and reward promising start-up founders to make significant progress in the Philippines.”
The widespread adoption of emerging fintech such as cryptocurrency in the Philippines has been building up the development of more and similar business and technology solutions within the entrepreneurial and startup sectors. Identifying, investing, and honing Filipino talent and groundbreaking ideas with immense business potential growth is vital for #TechingUp the local economy.
Despite the sheer number of technology products and services that are now available, Villarante believes that there is still a lot of room for growth. As the need for nation rebuilding through post-pandemic business solutions in the new normal increases, developing the visionaries and leaders that will help make this change is likewise important for the future of the industries. Another factor that can stimulate growth is cybersecurity which will protect users’ confidential information while neutralizing the attacks of digital criminals.
Villarante says, “The Philippines' future lies in technology, which is why we are #TechingUp the local economy with services and solutions that help the country inch closer towards its development goals.”