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AGSB-ME Team Bags Second Prize in Asian Entrepreneurship Award 2012

May 15, 2012

The Ateneo Graduate School of Business takes pride as its very own David R. Cruz III (Board Director and Co-Founder of Neugent Technologies and Master in Entrepreneurship Batch 1 graduate) won second place in the recently concluded Asian Entrepreneurship Award held in Kashiwanoha Campus, Kashiwa City, Chiba Japan from May 9 to 11.

Under the mentorship of Professor Antonio “Tony” M. Del Carmen (AGSB-ME Program Director), Mr. Cruz and his team made it to the finals, where they successfully recounted the story of their inspiring innovation. The eighteen entrants for the event were selected by the Nominating Committee headed by Chairman Dr. Shigeo Kagami, Professor of the University of Tokyo. Qualifying entrants must be unlisted technology start-ups that have been operating for at least five years. The eighteen contenders were then narrowed down to six finalists before competing for the third, second, and first prizes. The chairman of “Asian Entrepreneurship Award 2012 -Awards Committee” Mr. Masaru Murai, TX Entrepreneur Partners President, conducted a strict and impartial review of the presentations.

Mr. Cruz’s company, Neugent Technologies, is better known as the original developer and one of the manufacturers of the popular desk phone + touch screen tablet TELPAD. His team eventually became one of the six semifinalists before bagging the second prize, trailing behind Singapore’s Clearbridge BioMedics, while Justaple from Taiwan took home the third prize. Without a doubt, the AGSB-ME team’s efforts justly paid off.

In a statement, Professor Del Carmen says, “While we encountered several challenges as we redesigned and reformatted our presentations we nonetheless succeeded in conveying our technology

story to the six judges as well as to an international audience of over 100 attendees. It truly is a great victory not only for David and myself but for AGSB-ME and the Philippines!”

The three-day program brought together young entrepreneurs from twelve participating Asian countries in its attempt to “create a big network for entrepreneurship development attracting mentors and venture capitalists from Asia and the world.” [1] This innovation-creating project aims to further hone young entrepreneurs’ craft in the field of business. Equipped with the right training and confidence, these entrepreneurs can contribute in helping overcome the numerous difficulties faced by the industry.

Well done and congratulations Professor Tony Del Carmen and Mr. David Cruz!