PRESS RELEASE
SFPCG-PR-105-2021
Techpreneurs of Filipino Heritage Make Waves in Silicon Slopes Summit in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, 14-15 October 2021 – Philippines-based cofounder of Yield Guild Games (YGG) Gabby Dizon presented about online gaming that has enabled unemployed gamers, especially Filipinos, to earn money amid the pandemic at the Silicon Slopes Summit in the state.
The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco attended the Silicon Slopes Summit in Utah upon the invitation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Public and International Office.
Dizon presented the pioneering business model in gaming “Play to Earn,” which allows players to convert their time and skills into cryptocurrency and real money. YGG (https://yieldguild.io/) acquires non-fungible token (NFT) assets that generates yields and make these accessible to players, thus, removing financial barriers for players and enabling them to participate in the Metaverse economy without upfront costs. During the pandemic, unemployed Filipinos in the provinces were able to play and earn using the technology.
The Consulate General was represented by Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona, who also met Filipino American and Utah-based startup owner of https://www.bacon.work/ Hunter Sebresos. “Bacon” allows employers to hire employees through their app, which enables job hunters to pick and choose a shift in minutes.
Now on its fifth year, Silicon Slopes Summit featured Apple CEO Tim Cook who served as keynote speaker alongside U.S. Senator for Utah Mike Lee. The Apple CEO commended the Silicon Slopes Summit and the growing technology industry in Utah, including its “great universities, venture capital, unbelievable developers and entrepreneurs.”
Breakfast Meetings with Techpreneurs and State Officials
The LDS Public and International Office, in cooperation with the World Trade Center Utah, organized breakfast sessions with the consular corps of San Francisco and Los Angeles, featuring business leaders and CEOs of tech companies, including Cyd Tetro of Brandless, Inc., Owen Fuller of Lucidpress, Dano Ybarra of MyHive Global, Carine Clark, General Partner at Pelion Venture Partners, Dan Hemmert, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, Rep. Tim Hawkes, House Rules Chair and Co-Chair of the Legislative International Relations and Trade Committee, Sen. Luz Escamilla, and Sen. Todd Weiler, among others.
The meeting discussed how Utah has developed its dynamic tech industry. CEOs like design software for business LucidPress founder Fuller emphasized that there is high trust in Utah, especially in how the state is supporting startups and budding entrepreneurs. “In Utah we feel like we have a place where we can do business, where there is ethics and competency in the people that we’re working with in the public sphere,” he said.
The Philippines is a leading IT and Business Process Management hub in Southeast Asia. The country’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry recorded 1.4% growth in 2020 amid the global Covid-19 pandemic. The BPO sector generated $26.7 billion revenues in 2020. The Philippines also has a growing startup industry, which has raised over USD40 million even with the onset of the pandemic.
The Philippines is hosting the third Philippine Startup Week on 15-19 November 2021 to highlight the Philippine startup ecosystem as an engine for recovery post-pandemic. More details about the conference can be found here: https://www.phstartupweek.com/about-phsw. END
