Japan Airlines Offers Round-Trip Flights to Tokyo with Year-end Ticket Sale

Japan Airlines’ special fares for all Tokyo bound flights comes at the perfect time as travelers prepare for their 2019 trips. With over 10 non-working holidays in the first half of the year, Filipino travelers will be glad to know that they can start filing their leaves to visit Japan either for winter or their famed spring blossom season for discounted fares.

Tickets go on sale from December 11, 2018 until January 10, 2019 with a travel period of December 11, 2018 to July 31, 2019. Prices are as lows as USD 320 for Economy Class, USD 699 for Premium Economy (applicable only to flight JL742/Narita), and USD 1099 for Business Class.

Apart from Narita, the Japanese flag carrier also launched its newest route from Manila to Tokyo via Haneda which is the only flight that allows passengers leaving from Manila to arrive in Japan early in the morning. With JAL's newest flight route, this allows travelers to make the most of their stay by ensuring they don't lose a day when travelling effectively.

Japan Airlines Philippines’s General Manager, Mr. Chikara Mochihara expressed his excitement over seeing more Filipino travelers heading over to Japan. “With the Japanese government’s effort to boost repeat visitors in the country, we’ve seen more Filipinos acting on their desire to visit Japan as we welcomed the moe than 400,000 tourists from the Philippines in 2017. As the flag carrier, we are very proud to be part of the Filipino tourist’s journey as we extend the Japanese experience from the moment you step on board to the moment you arrive in Japan.”, said Mochihara.

For more booking and sale guidelines, visit Japan Airlines’ website.

Honda Commences Environmental Sustainability Projects in Romblon

Striving to realize a sustainable society, Honda Motor Co. Ltd., developed the Mobile Power Pack which can charge renewable energy as power source for electric devices that are necessary for people’s daily lives, including electric mobility products. Honda is expanding its efforts toward the realization of “local generation and local consumption of energy” and a “carbon-free society” by combining technologies to “generate”, “get connected” and “use” for energy.

Last 2017, Honda has conducted the demonstration testing of the Mobile Power Pack in Asia, and in the Philippines is Romblon Island, located in the Southern Tagalog region, particularly near the islands of Mindoro, Marinduque, and Palawan. In Romblon, diesel power generation is the primary source of energy while it is therefore overly dependent on high-cost and high-CO2 energy. Aside from the fact that Romblon is also facing a challenge in ensuring stable power supply while accommodating electricity needs with large fluctuations in day-night demand.

For this demonstration testing, Komaihaltec which jointly conducted this testing with Honda, installed a wind power generator that generates clean energy. Honda installed an Exchanger where surplus electricity will be stored in the Mobile Power Packs to realize highly-efficient energy use, through which the two companies will strive to realize a reduction in CO2 emissions.

Soon in Romblon, Honda will utilize PCX ELECTRIC as an electric mobility product which can be installed with the Mobile Power Pack to collaborate with wind power generator as renewable energy source in the island.

The PCX ELECTRIC is an electric motorized scooter. Two Mobile Power Pack units enable the PCX ELECTRIC to travel up to 41km (60km/h steady state test) on a single charge. It maintains the PCX series’ easy-to-handle size and comfortable riding position to realize comfortable and elegant riding. It also maintains the advanced features such as the stylish All-LED lights, and Honda SMART Key System which allows the rider to unlock the main switch knob by simply approaching the scooter without removing the smart key from their garment.

Honda looks forward to the continuous innovation of its products to contribute to the creation of a sustainable and carbon-free environment.

For more information, visit https://hondaph.com/ or follow Honda’s official Facebook page at Honda Philippines, Inc.

Local Startups Show Corporate Business Leaders their Prospects for Growth

MANILA, Philippines - Business leaders have found key learnings from the local startup industry on how to pivot as technologies and demands evolve continuously.

At the INQBATION Startup Showcase arranged by QBO Innovation Hub (QBO) and hosted by J.P. Morgan at their BGC Taguig office, six high performing local startups presented their business models and plans on how to scale up their operations to corporate partners J.P. Morgan, Smart, PLDT, investors, and other startup stakeholders.
The first three startups that presented were representatives of fellow startup enablers, namely Magpie, Innovantage, and Taxumo, while the last three startups are currently under QBO and J.P. Morgan’s Incubation Program, in which the most promising, innovative and scalable ventures are given the opportunity to develop impactful programs while experiencing dedicated mentorship from some of the country’s top executives.

The incubatees who participated in the showcase presented their business models and growth plans. Said startups are AdMov, an advertising platform that uses location data with facial recognition to generate and deliver personalized content and advertising; Cropital, a crowdfunding platform connecting anyone to help finance our farmers; and Pushkart.ph, an online grocery delivery service.
The INQBATION Startup Showcase also featured an exhibit and business matching area where other startup incubatees and ecosystem stakeholders were able to display their businesses. This includes fellow startup enabler, Launchgarage and other QBO incubatees, namely Exora, an online bidding platform that lets businesses connect with retail electricity suppliers; Senti, a social media monitoring platform that analyzes content including local dialects and colloquial language; MAD Travel, a tourism platform that provides alternative and meaningful experiences to marginalized communities; and OneWatt, a non-invasive predictive motor health monitoring system.
QBO President, Butch Meily passionately shared how important it is that the private and public-sector support startups.
“The economic multiplier effect of startups is indisputable. The largest companies in the world today like Google and Facebook are companies we never heard of a few years ago. With just a relatively small investment, we have created a whole new sector of the economy - one that will foster thousands of jobs. We have created this platform to not only to help promising startups grow but to also aide them as the industries they operate in begin to shift. We will teach them how to survive.”
Companies like J.P. Morgan also acknowledge the potential and impact of tech startups and are invested in helping them scale up.
“The startup industry in the Philippines, while young, shows potential to shape industries of the future. We remain committed to supporting local entrepreneurs as they become engines of job growth and economic vitality across the communities they serve,” said J.P. Morgan’s Managing Director and Senior Country Officer, Roberto L. Panlilio.

The J.P. Morgan Incubation program prioritizes startups who are from or cater to underserved communities. They are exposed to curated workshops, have access to professional services from government agencies, the Philippine Stock Exchange, and major investors, and receive assistance to exiting. The founders are also connected to local and international mentors who are either investors, executives, or successful startup founders.

About QBO

QBO Innovation Hub is a platform for the startup community to collaborate, develop talent, and grow. QBO (‘kubo’) provides startups with support and resources through events and capacity building programs as well as focused interventions designed to improve access to markets, knowledge, capital, and talent. It is the country’s first public-private initiative for startups, created through a partnership among IdeaSpace, J.P. Morgan, DOST, and DTI. Spurred on by the vision of Filipinos startups changing the world, QBO’s mission is to create a globally competitive startup ecosystem in the Philippines.

For more information on QBO, please visit www.qbo.com.ph or send an inquiry to hello@qbo.com.ph