RP projects shine in World Bank tilt

TWO projects from the Philippines were among the top winners in the recently held Global Development Marketplace Competition organized by the World Bank in association with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as part of an international initiative to identify emerging development ideas.

The two Filipino projects were among the 2,900 entries that were submitted to the competition, and one of the nine Filipino projects that made it to the top 104 finalists.

They will be awarded with grants of up to $200,000.

The Development Marketplace has awarded $40 million to more than 1,000 projects through global and country-level competitions since 1998. This year, it has allocated $4 million in grants for the winning projects.

The first project created by Asian Alliance of Appropriate Technology Practitioners Inc. or Approtech Asia. Their project is to train 200 street food vendors in Metro Manila in preparing highly nutritious, hygienic, affordable food packages from indigenous plants and animals, and provide common hygienic kitchen facilities for these food vendors.

The second winning project is from International Resources Group Philippines, which will set up two health banks for the poor in island towns of Obando, Bulacan.

The health banks will provide milk, vitamin supplements and medicine to children in exchange for recyclable goods.

The two groups’ winnings from the Development Marketplace funds will allow them to carry out their projects for up to two years.

South Asia was the most represented region among winners, with seven of the 22 projects. Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean followed with six winners each. The largest number of winners from a single country was from India, with four projects, followed by Kenya, Malawi, Costa Rica, Haiti, the Philippines and Bangladesh with two each.

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