Philippine Space Agency

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) named the top innovators of the Space Business Innovation Challenge (SBIC) during the Final Pitch and Awarding Ceremony on 08 November 2025 in Quezon City—marking a milestone in the country’s efforts to strengthen the Philippine space industry through entrepreneurial innovation and space data-powered solutions.

Launched during this year’s Philippine Space Week in August, SBIC invited Filipino students and professionals across the country to develop space-related business concepts and functional prototypes that harness satellite data and space technologies to address real-world, societal challenges in agriculture, agri-logistics, aquaculture, real estate, solar energy, and tourism, among other sectors.

Finalists presented their concepts and solutions anchored on space-derived datasets and applications to a multi-sectoral panel of judges representing the technology, business, investment, government, and academic communities.

Two categories of competing teams gave their final pitches. Student teams were allotted eight minutes to introduce their concepts, while professional teams presented their products and demonstrated functional prototypes within ten minutes. Each pitch was evaluated based on market potential, problem-solution fit, innovation, technical feasibility or viability, business model, impact and sustainability, and pitch quality.

Each category has its own set of judges.

Student Category:

Dr. Maria Victoria Espaldon, Professor, University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM);

Mr. Johnny Sy, Chief Data Officer, PHINMA Education Group, and Chief Project Director, Student Information System; and

Mr. Jake Go, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Partner, Springboard Philippines, and Professor, De La Salle University Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business.

Professional Category:

Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano, Jr., Vice President for Research and Innovation, UP System and founding/former Director General, PhilSA;

Mr. John Echauz, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Insurance Support Services International, Nascent Technologies, CCCO2, and PHXsource; and

Mr. James Arnold Faeldon, Analytics Head, Ayala Corporation Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Unit, and Board Member, Analytics and AI Association of the Philippines (AAP).

Over several months, participants refined their ideas through a four-week online mentoring program facilitated by experts from academia, industry, and government.

SBIC mentors are:

Mr.Andrei Raymund Relente, Assistant Professor, UP Diliman Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business;

Ms. Mary Grace Gasco, Founder and CEO, SpaceCrop Technologies, Ltd.;

Mr. Jose Emmanuel Reverente, Deputy Director, UP System Technology Transfer and Business Development Office;

Dr. Mark Edwin Tupas, Associate Professor, UP Diliman Department of Geodetic Engineering

Ms. Diane Dugan-Eustaquio, Private Consultant and Startup Enabler;

Mr. Peter Immanuel Tenido, Project Director, De La Salle University Innovation and Technology Office (DITO);

Engr. Gia Santos, Founder, REKO; and

Ms. Nicole Paterno, Founder and CEO, Nansy Care Services, Inc.

Celebrating Filipino innovation and industry potential

Officially opening the ceremony, PhilSA Officer-in-Charge Gay Jane Perez, Ph.D. commended the finalists for advancing innovative space-data applications through their proposed solutions.

“Each of your solutions represents not just innovation, but your deep understanding and appreciation of how space technologies can address real-world challenges, whether in agriculture, environmental monitoring, or community development. You have shown us that space is not faraway dream, but a platform for real solutions here at our home— Earth,” PhilSA OIC Perez, Ph.D. highlighted in her opening remarks.

PhilSA OIC Perez, Ph.D. underscores SBIC’s purpose and role, emphasizing that it is more than just a pitching competition, but a launchpad and stepping stone into the wider ecosystem of space science, technology, and entrepreneurship in the Philippines.

Recognizing the Top Innovators

Following deliberation, PhilSA announced the top 2 winners per category.

Student Category: Turning ideas into impact
Winner:	Terra Deals – “TerraDeals: Integrating Hazard Intelligence into the Philippine Real-Estate Marketplace” TerraDeals is a web and mobile-based land marketplace that adds satellite imagery and hazard information to property listings—giving buyers and sellers a transparent view of land conditions. It addresses long-standing gaps in the country’s real-estate sector by combining verified listings with geographic, environmental, and location-specific risk data to help users assess land safety and suitability.
Winner:	Terra – “Terra: Satellite-powered agricultural community app” Terra is a mobile app (with a web-based dashboard for local government units and institutional partners) that gives farmers localized, 3-5-day crop health, weather, and soil forecasts using satellite data, national weather updates, and real-time field inputs. It follows a freemium model, offering basic forecasts for free and advanced analytics and large-scale monitoring tools through premium subscription options.
Other Finalists:	A.B. Kahano Solutions – “RICO: Resort Intelligence Co-Pilot”
	Astronous – “SolarMap PH”
	Sinag Systems – “Sinag Systems: Proprietary, Web-based Platform”

Professional Category: From Prototypes to Market-Ready Solutions
Winner:	Leads Agri x IMPACT R&D – “Digisaka System” DigiSaka is a monitoring tool that combines satellite imagery, AI, and field validation to help farmers detect crop stress, verify conditions in the field, log interventions, and track recovery. It provides easy-to-use dashboards and mobile tools for timely crop-health, soil condition, and water stress alerts and evidence-based decision-making for farmers, technicians, big landowners, LGU agriculture staff, and agribusinesses owners.
Winner:	ISDA – “Intelligent System for Demand and Aquaculture” ISDA is a platform that uses satellite and environmental data to assess spoilage risk levels and recommend efficient routes for aquaculture products. Through real-time analytics and personalized dashboards, it helps industry stakeholders optimize logistics, reduce waste, and identify new market opportunities.
Other Finalists:	S+ – “ShelfLife+”
	KnowYourSpace – “Real Estate Risk Scoring Tool”
	MANLALAKBAYS – “Cost Surface Maps to Prioritize & Analyze via Space Satellites (COMPASS)”

Student Category Winner: Terra Deals of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology
Student Category Winner: Terra of the University of the Philippines Visayas
Student Category Finalist: A.B. Kahano Solutions of the Visayas State University
Student Category Finalist: Astronous of the Pampanga State University
Student Category Finalist: Sinag Systems of the Iloilo Science and Technology University
Professional Category Winner: ISDA
Professional Category Finalist: S+
Professional Category Finalist: KnowYourSpace
Professional Category Finalist: MANLALAKBAYS

The awarding ceremony was led by PhilSA OIC Perez, Ph.D. and PhilSA Deputy Director General for Space Operations, Infrastructure, and Industry (DDGSOII) Denis Villorente, along with the following panel of judges across industry, academia, and government sectors.

“Looking at the solutions you have proposed, I would like to commend you, of course, for recognizing the value of our Yamang Kalawakan to aid in providing solutions for real-world challenges in agriculture, waste reduction, biodiversity conservation, sustainable land development, and real estate,” PhilSA DDGSOII Villorente said in his opening remarks, emphasizing how the finalists demonstrated the practical value of satellite data across multiple sectors.

Terra Deals of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology is among the top winners of SBIC 2025 under the student category.
Terra of the University of the Philippines Visayas is among the top winners of SBIC 2025 under the student category.
(L-R): Mr. Jake Go, Springboard Philippines CEO and Managing Partner; Dr. Maria Victoria Espaldon, UPLB SESAM Professor; and Mr. Johnny Sy, PHINMA Education Group Chief Data Officer and Student Information System Chief Project Director, serve as the judges of SBIC 2025 under the student category.
SBIC 2025 student category participants, judges, and mentors in a photo opportunity
Leads Agri x IMPACT R&D is among the top winners of SBIC 2025 under the professional category.
(L-R): Mr. James Arnold Faeldon, Ayala Corporation Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Unit Analytics Head and Analytics and AI Association of the Philippines Board member; Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano, Jr., UP System Vice President for Research and Innovation and former PhilSA Director General; and Mr. John Echauz, Insurance Support Services International, Nascent Technologies, CCCO2, and PHXsource Founder, Chairman and CEO, serve as the judges of SBIC 2025 under the professional category.
SBIC 2025 professional category participants, judges, and mentors in a photo opportunity
Director Martinez, in his closing remarks, reaffirms PhilSA’s commitment to supporting innovators beyond the challenge and emphasizes that initiatives like SBIC contribute to the country’s growing innovation ecosystem as part of PhilSA’s efforts to expand the national space economy.
As part of SBIC 2025, participants have also undergone a four-week mentoring program led by experts from industry, academia, and government—guiding them in refining their concepts, strengthening their use of satellite data, and transforming early ideas into scalable space-enabled solutions.
The SBIC 2025 mentoring sessions linked innovators with experts across sectors—creating a space where ideas were tested, refined, and strengthened through shared knowledge and guidance.

The ceremony then concluded with closing remarks from PhilSA Space Industry and Strategic Business Development Bureau (SISBDB) Director Rolando Martinez, who encouraged the participants to continue refining their ideas and advancing their solutions beyond the competition. “This is just the first step into your entrepreneurial journey,” PhilSA SISBDB Director Martinez said in his message.

About SBIC 2025

This nationwide business ideation and prototyping competition called on students, professionals, startups, entrepreneurs, and private sector actors in the country to build sustainable and impactful solutions using free satellite data like Earth observation, weather, and environmental information.

These datasets hold great potential to address real-world challenges across sectors such as, but not limited to, agriculture, disaster resilience, energy, mining, supply chain and logistics, land-use and real estate planning, financial and risk management services, and tourism.

Participants joined an online mentorship program and subsequently proposed their own space data-powered solutions in the final pitch competition.

SBIC 2025 forms part of PhilSA’s continuing efforts to empower local talent and accelerate space-enabled industries, in alignment with its mandate and goal to broaden the country’s space value chain.