A budding student entrepreneur who discovered a sustainable, refrigerant-less air conditioner was recently crowned as the winner of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) Philippines Finals.
Angel Palma, a student from De La Salle University, was named as the winner of the Philippine leg of GSEA for her invention of the AirDisc, a cooling technology that is not dependent on coolants that are harmful to the environment.
Held annually, GSEA is the premiere global competition for student entrepreneurs who own and actively operate their own businesses. The global student entrepreneurship competition also provides a platform where they could be connected with key industry players locally and internationally, allowing them to gain valuable insights and learn best practices, which they could apply to their businesses.
By winning the Philippine leg of GSEA, Palma will represent the country in the GSEA Global Finals in Cape Town, South Africa in April 2020, and will take home a cash prize of USD 3,000.
“Entrepreneurs’ Organization Philippines is committed to enabling student entrepreneurs to learn, grow and fully maximize their potentials. This competition will not only provide them with capital help, but will also give them the opportunity to enhance their skills through personal mentorship, and the platform to widen their local and international connections,” said Ray Roxas-Chua, chairperson of EO Philippines GSEA.
An ‘accidental discovery’
In her presentation during the finals, Palma admitted that her discovery of the product was accidental, but after seeing the product’s potential to revolutionize the air-cooling industry, she pursued the development of AirDisc.
Apart from potentially revolutionizing the industry, what inspired Palma was the passing of a relative due to a heart attack triggered by heat stroke.
“The Philippines is a country where a temperature of more than 30 degree celsius is a normal occurrence. The heat claimed my uncle’s life, and it can claim thousands more. If we only we have access to air-cooling equipment, we could have prevented the deaths caused by heat,” Palma mentioned in her presentation.
“The entry of AirDisc in the market will be a deciding step for all of us. Instead of fostering unnecessary competition, stakeholders in the air-conditioning and refrigeration industry are encouraged to join me in my mission with this technology,” she added.
Palma will fly to Cape Town to represent the country in the GSEA Global Finals in April 2020. She will be facing more than 50 student-entrepreneurs from around the world, and will be receiving intensive mentorship from EO Philippines member entrepreneurs.
