Student innovator from Ateneo is first Filipino Red Bull Basement world champion

A student of Ateneo de Manila University beat young innovators from 40 countries to rule the Red Bull Basement World Final in Tokyo on December 5.

Filipino representative Aldrin Sojourner “Soj” Gamayon won with his innovation, AgriConnect, an agriculture tracking app that will allow farmers to monitor their crops, build resilience, and increase yield.

Currently in development, the app streamlines farm risk management through a three-step process, which includes gathering information from multi-spectral IoT sensors, relaying AI-generated insights to the mobile app, and enabling farmers to utilize these insights to make informed decisions and take necessary actions.

During the finals, Gamayon and the other Top 10 finalists presented their ideas to the global judging panel composed of Microsoft for Startups Head Hans Yang, Plug and Play Early-stage Investor Letizia Royo-Villanova, influential entrepreneur and business mentor Jun Yuh, “AMD Meet the Experts” host and producer Ryan Sagare, and Red Bull cliff diving athlete and entrepreneur Molly Carlson.

“I wanted to make an impact for the Filipinos. I do acknowledge that flying to another country to study is a privilege, and I feel that there is a responsibility for me to give back. Piecing that together with my experiences and the things I really feel strongly about led me to the farmers,'' said Gamayon, a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Science in Communications Technology Management program at Ateneo and a member of a rice-farming family.

As the global winner, Gamayon will participate in a three-week program of networking and mentorship with tech and VC leaders in Silicon Valley, California.

He also plans to establish more partnerships in the Philippines.

“It’s vital for the next steps for my startup (to get it out there) to develop partnerships or collaborations with people that could help me further the idea. I firmly believe that I could not do this alone; it takes a village. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make it successful,'' said Gamayon, who won the national title in October.

Gamayon also advised young, aspiring innovators “to not think, just do.”

''Coming in to Red Bull Basement, I had so many different directions and ideas. But it only started because I actually just did it,'' he said.

Launched in 2015, the Red Bull Basement is a competition that showcases innovations aimed at solving social and environmental challenges.

Opportunities for personal development are provided to participants through workshops with expert mentors, networking, and collaboration.

Over 110,000 entries across the world were submitted for Red Bull Basement 2024. — VBL, GMA Integrated News