Forty students from Davao’s top colleges and universities, forming 10 teams, came together at the Byte Forward Hackathon organized by Converge ICT Solutions Inc., the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), putting forward tech-enabled solutions to respond to small and medium enterprises’ varying challenges, from inventory management to logistics efficiency.
The fourth leg of the highly anticipated hackathon series was mounted in Davao del Norte, with students participating from Western Mindanao State University, Ateneo de Davao University, Caraga State University, and eight other schools.
The Byte Forward Hackathon series form part of the 51st Philippine Business Conference and Expo’s (PBC&E) lead-up activities chaired by Converge CEO, Dennis Anthony H. Uy. For Uy, the focus on technology and innovation is what marks his chairmanship of the PBC&E different from years past.
“The PBC&E’s regional hackathons give our youth a voice, a space to innovate, and a chance to shape the nation’s progress. By empowering them, we are building a future-ready Philippines where entrepreneurs compete globally, technology bridges gaps, and every youth dares to dream big and act boldly,” added Ron Puno, CEO of Rev21 Labs, the innovation arm of Converge.
Executives and officers from Rev21 Labs served as mentors to the student teams, providing them with the problem statements and guiding their problem-solving efforts as they craft their digital solutions.
Among the salient themes tackled by the students are digital food service management, agriculture cold chain technology, agricultural warehouse management, and e-health records management, to name a few.
The teams that emerged triumphant were Team K-MAS from the University of the Philippines-Mindanao, Team Codeez from the Western Mindanao State University, and in third place is Team Stuck Underflow from students from University of Southern Mindanao.
Team K-MAS chose to develop a freight exchange platform to tackle the issue of empty backhauls of trucks, which is a cost burden and a logistical dilemma. The platform, dubbed TaraTruck proposes to automatically match MSME truckers with shipments to minimize empty return trips, offering both contract-based and spot bookings.
Team Codeez, on the other hand, chose the problem theme of e-health records management with a solution called HealthE that empowers patients with control over their health records through a secure, QR and PIN-based EHR system.
University of Southern Mindanao’s Team Stuck Underflow, meanwhile, centered on a patient digitalization program called the Abtik Data Hub that turns paper charts into smart, secure digital health records capable of producing AI-powered insights.
So far, Converge and Rev21, together with PCCI and DTI, have held four hackathons concurrently with the PCCI’s area business conferences in National Capital Region, Visayas, Northern Luzon, and most recently in Mindanao.
The next leg of the Byte Forward Hackathon, for Southern Luzon, is in Bacoor, Cavite from September 29-30, 2025. The champions from the Regional Hackathons will compete against each other in a final tournament during PCCI’s 51st Philippine Business Conference and Expo, scheduled for October 20-21 at the SMX Convention Center in Manila, offering prizes up to P500,000.
To know more about the 51st Philippine Business Conference and Expo, visit https://www.philippinechamber.com/philippine-business-conference-and-expo.
