PANUBLIX, an Iloilo-based tech startup has been recognized as one of the top 100 high-potential Philippine startups at the Philippine Startup Week 2020, the largest virtual startup conference in the country.
Panublix was also selected to be among the top 15 startup teams with disruptive ideas enabled by technology to be part of the QBO Innovation INQBATION, an incubation program for early-stage startups and supported the US Embassy of the Philippines.
Panublix is a transparent and impactful sourcing platform that connects designers with Philippine garments and textile producers or weavers. Based in Iloilo City and co-founded by Ilongga mover Noreen Marian Bautista, they work directly with weavers and garment makers to make them enterprise-ready for commerce and trade.
The initiative hopes to play a part in reviving this again in the 21st century. Panublix is a social enterprise under SlashIgnite Inc., a social innovation studio that has been helping develop social enterprises since 2012.
Derived from the Hiligaynon word for Heritage “Panubli-on” and X for “exchange”, Panublix is a tech-style platform that aims to connect Philippine weavers and textile producers with the global fashion and design market.
Although equipped with a burning passion for their weaving craft, it has always been a challenge for the local weavers and artisans of Iloilo to find a marketplace that could effectively connect them to designers and make their product available on the digital platform.
A lack of integration in the supply chain process is also a concern for the local weavers. With the aim of widening the reach of heritage and pushing for its highest potential through this program, Panublix aims to help spark a light on the local weaving communities in Iloilo as a major destination for hand-loom and hand-woven textiles and apparel as well as other niche products. Making sure people can still enjoy the indigenous textiles-turned-fashion pieces while championing sustainability and empowering the weavers from Iloilo, living by its 19th-century title of being the textile capital of the Philippines.
Hosted and facilitated by QBO Philippines, this program is made possible through the support of the US Embassy. The program will provide incentives, benefits, and tools to let the Startup founders apply their learnings and pursue their ventures.
QBO, just like the bahay kubo that inspired the name, is a modern space for Filipino startups and other players in the ecosystem to come together and flourish. QBO’s mission is to create a globally competitive startup ecosystem in the Philippines through the dynamic collaboration of local entrepreneurs, talents, mentors, investors, and other stakeholders.
Formed in 2016, the public and private sectors came together and united their vision of Filipino startups changing the world, with the belief that unleashing the potential of an entrepreneurship-driven economy is a path to nation-building, sustainable development, and inclusive growth. For more information about this two worthwhile ventures visit www.qbo.com.ph and www.panublix.com./PN
