The creators of an app called “TollPass” won the US$6,000 grand prize at 2014 Philippines Mobile App Developers’ Day on Sunday night. The winning app, TollPass, offers a solution for smarter road tolls in order to reduce traffic jams and delays.
Organizers Jake Jennings, Executive Director of International External and Regulatory Affairs of AT&T, A SPACE Manila, Golden Gate Ventures and Philippine Software Industry Association presented the award on Sunday.
The event took place on Dec. 6-7 and drew more than 60 contestants from the Philippines to compete under the theme of “Smart City and Community Involvement.” They split into 11 teams.
Second place and $2,000 went to the creator of an app called “E-Jeep Tracker,” which tells a passenger how far away an e-jeep, or electric jeepney, is from where he or she is waiting, and therefore how long the wait will be. E-jeeps are a popular form of the public transport in Manila that use specific routes rather like buses.
Third place and $1,000 went to a team that created an app called “What Are You Craving For?” This app eliminates queuing in lines by identifying restaurants with shorter wait-times for when ordering for takeaway.
All the winning team members also won a six-month mentorship by Golden Gate Ventures.
AT&T, A SPACE Manila, Philippine Software Industry Association and Golden Gate Ventures co-hosted the event at A SPACE facilities in Manila. Participants received access to tools, knowledge and mentor support to build powerful apps within a very tight time-frame.