In its push to make technology more inclusive, PLDT and Smart team up with the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) to launch Innovation Generation 4.0 (InnoGen 4.0) with the theme “Innovation for All”. The program calls on the tech-savvy youth to pitch their technology-enabled solution that empowers persons with disabilities.

InnoGen 4.0 aims to harness innovation among the youth while supporting the NCDA and its member agencies in the implementation of their respective business programs and making their operations more intuitive and inclusive for the benefit of persons with disabilities.

“We strive to create an inclusive and better world, celebrate diversity and empower individuals from all walks of life,” PLDT-Smart Head of Group Corporate Communications Cathy Yang said.

For InnoGen 4.0, PLDT promises it to be bigger, as it has been expanded to include students taking up vocational courses, and out-of-school youth in adopted communities of learning institutions. Aside from financial and connectivity grants, InnoGen also offers a rich learning environment through lectures, workshops, and mentoring sessions, fostering knowledge sharing and technological skill development.

PLDT, Smart and NCDA will initially admit the best 100 ideas in Phase 1, with the teams becoming part of the Kilo 100. These teams will take part in the first learning sessions on Concept Development that include Design Thinking and Ideation, Basic Validation, and Writing and Designing proposals.

From there, the top 50 teams will advance to Phase 2, or the Mega 50. During this phase, qualified teams will dive deeper into user research to anchor their solutions on actual needs of their intended customers. They will also have opportunities to join mentoring sessions with tech mavericks who offer real-world experience in the start-up scene. The teams’ objective is to come up with the best value proposition and lean canvas, and mockup and/or wireframe.

After deliberations, the Top 25 teams will enter the final phase, or the Giga 25. Lecturing and mentoring sessions will tackle Basic Prototyping, Integrated Payment Platforms, Data Privacy, and Idea Pitching. The teams will be working on a minimum viable product of their proposed solution, which will be presented on Demo Day.